Perfecting the science of disaster.

PositionWarnings, information gathering and communication

There is hardly a more surreal scene than that of the eerie and silent devastation wreaked by major natural disasters. Add to that the odd sight of individuals arriving with small metal suitcases and what look like large umbrellas that they quickly unpack like someone's bizarre idea of the beginning of a picnic.

While this might give the impression of a futuristic Hollywood film set, it is actually a realistic picture of how today's disaster teams use the latest portable technologies to carry out immediate on-site analyses of damage and risk caused by natural disasters.

The suitcases and mock umbrellas are compact mobile satellite systems capable of transmitting audio, data, fax and telex communications signals. The information is fed into supercomputers and plugged into other communications networks. Within minutes, scientists and disaster specialists who are thousands of miles away are geared to respond to the crisis, aided by sophisticated computer models.

"The technology has advanced to the point where anyone on the scene with very little training can talk anywhere around the world", said John Scott, an American specialist in disaster telecommunications with the Center for Public Communications in Arlington, Virginia.

"The layman will become more important in this field because the new technologies are 'user-friendly'. Not only has the cost come down, but there are fewer moving parts and fewer buttons to push."

Mr. Scott is one of many professionals cooperating with UN and outside agencies in the work of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, which now links a wide range of information networks to allow for a truly inter-disciplinary approach to disaster mitigation.

The information may vary from knowledge about geographical studies to land-use planning ideas, even to sociological studies into human behaviour in crisis. When all these elements are put together, they produce anything from weather maps to emergency evacuation procedures that field staff can instantly implement.

At present, there are four types of communications systems in use. A fixed satellite system consists of a space satellite with ground stations on earth. An example is Intelset, an international system in which each country has its independent ground facility. Another is the portable satellite system, which consists of mobile equipment packed into two suitcases. A third is a terrestrial mobile cellular system that operates in a manner similar to a...

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