Comments on: Surviving Cyclone Pam

By: J Taylor

J Taylor — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 07:04:34 +0000

Thanks again for taking the time to reply so thoroughly. Its is a complicated discussion, it seems! All the best, and I look forward to reading and learning more on this and other issues on this site.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 06:45:34 +0000

Having had to repair the HF radio for a provincial HQ following a category 2 cyclone, the term 'robust' doesn't spring to my mind in relation to any form of radio communications. :-) Jokes aside, it is always worth considering what might have worked better. And it is a fact that our medium wave transmitter went off the air at a crucial time due to a lack of fault-tolerance in the implementation. But broadcast communications serve a distinctly different purpose to mobile voice and data, for example. I remain confident in my assertion that we did quite well under extreme circumstances. It is extremely important to note that treating Pam as a generic event (i.e. the kind of cyclone that rolls through this area on a regular basis) denies us the perspective needed to understand the scope and scale of the event. Think what you will about future trends, but the force of this cyclone was, I believe, unprecedented in this part of the world. In short, it's not something that even disaster management plans plan for.

By: J Taylor

J Taylor — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 06:00:41 +0000

Thanks for your reply. I do not doubt this. I do however suspect that the faith, energy and investment put into mobile phone techs in recent years detracted somewhat from the maintenance and/or pursuance of other alternatives, such as radio, that could have been more robust. Easy to say in hindsight, to be sure, but I hope that these will be explored for the future.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 01:34:33 +0000

When a category 5 cyclone strikes, typically everything fails. The very definition of a cat5 is ‘local devastation’ in the area of highest winds. The standard to which most communications infrastructure is built is to withstand the winds at the core of a category 3 cyclone. The fact is that comms were up and running locally in Port Vila within 4 hours of the eye passing, and the national network was rebuilt within 10 days. That is an immense achievement. The network performed well above expectations.

Realistically, you cannot expect much of anything to survive such a disaster. The fact that we were able to recover so quickly really is quite remarkable.

By: J Taylor

J Taylor — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 18:11:05 +0000

An interesting article with lots of very good points. I do however question the championing of mobile phone technology here. Certainly it was extremely useful in circulating important information before the cyclone, and has been after. But lets not also forget that when the cyclone hit it failed completely, resulting in widespread uncertainty and fear over several long days. I’m not a communications expert, but I do wonder what emergency alternatives had been or could have been put in place in case of this failure.

By: Davide De Beni

Davide De Beni — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 20:23:34 +0000

Dan, thanks for the keeping us updated and for your and PiPP formidable commitment in the aftermath of ciclone Pam.

By: Olivia

Olivia — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 08:46:49 +0000

Thank you for laying this all out so clearly and thoughtfully. And, importantly, within the particular cultural context of Vanuatu. May Vanuatu, her people, those whose intention is to be of help, and all those who love her, rise to the occasion.

By: christine orchard

christine orchard — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 21:54:42 +0000

Team work, wonderful article. So pleased that this is the path all the agencies are taking. I love Vanuatu people

By: Henk van den Ende

Henk van den Ende — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 06:49:07 +0000

Dan, I am currently involved as a manager in a disaster management otganisation in Queensland Australia. It is wonderful to see that outside agencies have identified a single coordination/management agency to ensure all happens as it should. I have seen it too many times where a larger agency who beleives they should be I charge actually hinder the response purely as they do not have the wider picture, understanding of the other agencies complexities and the local knowledge. I hope that our organisation and others around the world take note of the efficient and planned response to this large and dynamic disaster.
Thank you to all the planners and organisors of this response to bring all together as a single team with the sole purpose of the welfare of the people of Vanuatu.
Well done and congratulations to all.