Mobile Phones for Communicating Disaster Information

ENTRY DATE: 28.04.2015 | LAST UPDATE: 28.04.2015

CATEGORIES:

  • Disaster Prevention
  • Observation systems, information dissemination

TECHNOLOGIES MATURITY:

Applicable immediately

Technology Owners:

  • Individuals
  • Mobile phone providers
  • Network operators

Needs Address

Disaster prevention and relief

Adaptation effects

Improved resilience

Overview and Features

Mobile phones are a fast and efficient way to relay early warning for disaster prevention especially to people living in remote areas. This would enable minimising the loss of life and aid in post disaster recovery. The mobile phones are being used for relaying information such as shelter locations, damaged or accessible transport routes, cyclone updates via text and phone calls, as well as internet. 

Cost

Costs for mobile phone services and battery recharger

Energy source

Electricity or solar energy to charge the phone and batteries

Ease of maintenance

Depends on the service

Technology performance

  • Phones can be used to receive FM radio signals (e.g. in Solomon Islands)
  • Network coverage is continuously being expanded and improved. Developments in technology mean post-disaster assessments can be submitted via SMS and the data can be utilised to map out affected areas to inform response efforts. (e.g. the Ushahidi platform in Vanuat)

Considerations

Availability of phone service and electricity

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

  • Receive other services
  • Provides the means of ensuring critical information reaches remote communities (e.g. those on small islands or hard to access areas)
  • Increased use of mobile phones in developing countries make their use for disaster prevention and response possible (e.g. 80 per cent of people in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu have access to a mobile phone

Information Resources

IRIN, n.d. Bangladesh: Dialling into disaster risk reduction. Available at: http://www.irinnews.org/report/93914/bangladesh-dialling-into-disaster-risk-reduction [20 March 2015]

OCHA, 2013. Humanitarianism in the Network Age. OCHA Policy and study Series. Available at: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/WEB%20Humanitarianism%20in%20the%20Network%20Age%20vF%20single.pdf [12 January 2015]

OCHA, 2013. Pacific: New technology changing disaster response. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  Available at: http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/pacific-new-technology-changing-disaster-response [20 March 2015]

OXFAM, 2013. Get ready, get set…BEEP! Can mobile phones deliver community-based early warning systems in Sri Lanka? Policy & Practice Blog. Available at: http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/blog/2013/01/early-warning-sms-in-sri-lanka [20 March 2015]

UNU-EHS, 2013. Mobile Data, Environmental Extremes and Population (MDEEP). Available at: http://www.ehs.unu.edu/mdeep [20 March 2015]