Disasters!

The news of late has been full of natural and man made disasters, including the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and an anniversary of the 9/11 horrors. In every disaster, it seems the highest priority is communication. To be sure, evacuation, food, water, shelter, and medical care are critical needs, but none of it can be delivered without communication between the government and the responding agencies. You might not be the hero who runs into a burning building to save a child, but as a knowledgeable and prepared geek you can still have a big impact. We’ll talk about some of the issues you might face and how you could use your geek skills to improve the situation.

1. Hurricane Katrina Lesson

When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the power was lost, cellular and wired telephones went out, and government radio repeaters were silent. The mayor and the emergency operations center had only one communications link to the outside world – the Internet. That’s right - the officials had only one Internet connection and fortunately there was a geek present who rounded up some routers and cables and hooked up a makeshift Local Area Network (LAN) with a bridge to the Internet. That’s how messages got to and from the people in charge for several days.

2. Why the Internet?

Why did the Internet survive in the face of disaster when every other major form of communication was disabled? The answer is that the Internet is not a particular medium of communications with a single point, like a telephone central switching office or trunking radio controller, that can fail and bring the whole network down. The Internet makes use of almost any communications medium available.

You can be connected to the Internet via a cable, through a dialup telephone line, DSL or cable TV modem, wirelessly by WiFi, cellular, satellite, or even ham radio. The most significant point here is that your Internet address doesn't change, no matter how you are hooked up. When telephone networks go down, your phone number is useless. When a particular government radio channel is out, the workers can’t find you. But if they send a message to your Internet e-mail account, you can pick it up a dozen different ways.

3. Hard-Wired Internet

Since most commercial and even some home Internet connections are largely run on modern, below-ground fiber optic trunks, they are not as vulnerable to damage by wind, water, or even fire. In the hotel where the New Orleans officials set up shop, there was one functioning direct-cabled Internet connection still working. The technical person in the group scared up a Network Switch to split the single Internet connection out so the officials could jack in their Laptop Computers and start communicating via e-mail. Having a Cabling Kit on hand complete with lots of CAT 5e cable, RJ-45 connectors and the necessary wire stripping and crimping tool would allow you to quickly wire up any command post.

4. Telephone Dialup

In some situations or locations, you might have to resort to a telephone dialup connection. Though too slow for streaming video or high performance Web surfing, a 28 Kilobit per second (Kbps) telephone connection can handle a lot of text e-mail. If your portable computer does not have a built-in telephone connection, you could use a USB Telephone Modem to make the connection in an emergency.

5. WiFi

WiFi, or 802.11 wireless networking is very good magic in an emergency. You don’t need to run a cable to a laptop computer if you set up an 802.11g Wireless Router. This small box splits out an Internet connection, be it hardwired, cable or DSL modem, or whatever, and provides a short-range radio connection to computers within a few hundred feet. Position the router in a clear spot so the radio signals have a chance to radiate toward the computers to be served. If the router has an external antenna or two, keep the antennas approximately vertical.

Computers can be moved around and new machines added to the network almost instantly. Many laptop computers come with WiFi built in, but for a computer that doesn’t have it, you can use a USB WiFi Network Adapter. If it is running Windows XP then just plugging it in should install the device and you can select the wireless network from the popup menu. This USB adapter comes with a USB cable extension so you can position the adapter away from your computer to better receive the radio signals from the router. Line-of-sight to the router is best, but at least get the adapter with its built-in antenna away from radio signal deflecting/absorbing objects like metal desks or file cabinets.

6. WiFi Antennas

WiFi equipment is designed for short ranges and the signals don’t penetrate walls or floors very well. You can extend the range of your wireless network by using an 802.11G Range Expander strategically positioned between the router and the computers to which you are trying to connect. Putting the range expander in a window, doorway or stairwell can spread the WiFi signals beyond a wall or floor that would normally stop them.

If you have a need in an emergency situation to go beyond the nominal range of WiFi, you can add a Range Extender Antenna to the computer, the router, or both. Keep in mind that nothing is free and a directional extender antenna can go a longer distance, but only cover a narrow angle. First, try putting an antenna on the computer end of the link and point it at the router. The omnidirectional antenna on the router can then continue to serve other computers closer to it in any direction. If you have to extend the range by using a directional antenna on both ends of the link, then use a separate router to serve the close-by computers.

7. Amateur Radio WinLink 2000

Licensed radio amateurs (not to be confused with unlicensed Citizen's Band “CB” radio) have a long tradition of providing communications assistance during disasters. In fact, the Amateur Radio Relay League got started relaying messages copied by hand from radio operator to radio operator. The concept was very much like the Internet where messages could pass through the network of stations by many different paths making it much more robust than commercial communications systems.

Radio amateurs (also known as “hams”) have recognized the value of the Internet and have developed a method of relaying Internet packets over their radios called WinLink 2000. A radio operator outside the disaster area can act as a gateway station to connect to the rest of the Internet. Small portable stations can be brought into the disaster area to provide a link even if all other forms of Internet connection are gone. You can help out by earning an amateur radio license and joining a local emergency radio organization like the ARES or RACES. Check the ARRL Web site to see how you can extend your geek skills even further.

8. Power to the People

In the emergency command post or even a shelter set up in a school gym, you will have a cluster of folks helping out, and they need power for their laptops and all the geek gadgets that it takes to hook them up. Don’t take power and the availability of outlets for granted. Use a Power Strip with Surge Protection to split out the end of an extension cord. You need the surge protection because there may be lightning storms and wind that can short power lines causing spikes on the line.

In the worst case, you might be running your equipment off a portable generator. For an evacuation shelter, you would want a Medium Duty UPS while a command post should have a bigger backup with a Heavy Duty UPS. Generators have to be shut down for refueling and the Uninterruptable Power Supply will keep your computer and network equipment running for several minutes while the generator is down. Also, the output of most portable generators is very “dirty” and the surge protection built into the UPS will protect your valuable equipment.

9. Internet Takes Over for Newspapers

It’s not only government officials and rescue agencies who are resorting to the Internet in times of disaster. Newspapers in the path of hurricane Rita announced that they were limiting or suspending publication of their hardcopy newspapers, but that readers could continue to get news via their web sites. The Galveston County Daily News wanted to protect their employees by keeping delivery personnel off the streets. The Port Arthur News cancelled publication and abandon their offices, but updated their web site news. Again, this is an example of the independence of the Internet from physical plant and particular locations. If you are waiting out the storm, you might want to have a PDA with Bluetooth to connect to the Internet via your cell phone to keep up on the news and weather reports.

Final Words

A little preparation can put you in a position to help yourself, your family, and your community in the case of a disaster. Stock up on canned food, water, and flashlight batteries, but don’t forget the capabilities of the Internet at providing communications in time of need. As an experienced geek, you can get it together when the crunch comes. Speaking of getting it together, having a Transport Case handy with a list of the equipment and accessories you need can make packing quick when you can’t afford to forget anything, and when there are no local stores left open for last-minute pickup.