Reconnecting Irma Crisis Management

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Saint Martin

Télécoms Sans Frontières deployed to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) on 7th September in response to the devastating Cat. 5 Hurricane Irma that has caused havoc across the Caribbean islands.

Prepositioned in Guadeloupe some 24 hours following the passage of Hurricane Irma, Télécoms Sans Frontières' team on the ground finally obtained authorisation from officials on 10th September allowing them to deploy out to Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.

A first Emergency Response Team arrived on 11th September in Saint-Martin and worked throughout the night to set up our first satellite connection in the island's Coordination Centre.

As the terrestrial network remains unstable across the island, the deployment of our terminal will allow relief workers to coordinate medical evacuations, conveyance of material and human assistance, and the provision of emergency accommodation.

On 15th September, Télécoms Sans Frontières installed a fixed satellite internet antenna at the poignantly named Aérogare de l'Espérance (Hope Airport) in order to help streamline coordination efforts. The airport is the central hub for logistics, distribution and reception of material and human aid under the supervision of joint French forces. Faced with daily arrivals of tonnes of aid, medical evacuations and arrival of human resources, the aid mechanism is on full throttle and coordination between forces and NGOs implanted on the airfield is key to assisting the inhabitants of Saint-Martin with rebuilding their lives.

TSF extended the reach of its Wi-Fi to the waiting areas for families pending repatriation and medical assistance, allowing access to social media and instant messaging in this otherwise out-of-coverage zone.

Civil defence and the fire brigade are also playing a key role in the island's relief response. In charge of emergency operations, mitigation, emergency evacuation and recovery, the body in Saint-Martin now benefits from a TSF antenna that connects its headquarters. This second connection is installed in addition to the initial TSF-powered network set up in the island's Operations Centre. Thanks to TSF’s work and its partners’ support, a majority of Saint-Martin's main actors for crisis management now have access to rapid and stable internet connectivity.

As the terrestrial network remains largely unsettled, Télécoms Sans Frontières is dedicated to providing vital emergency communications across the island, ensuring that authorities have the necessary tools for an optimal response.

Communications for the inhabitants of Saint-Martin

Hundreds of families on the island of Saint Martin have fallen victim to Irma's unforgiving wrath. Whilst Télécoms Sans Frontières is awaiting approval to set up Wi-Fi zones for the population, our team has gone to meet families directly, proposing door-to-door, personalised assistance in the form of a telephone call.

A number of the families concerned are unable to move around the island due to fuel shortage, with many areas where coverage is partially functional several kilometres across the hilly terrain.

Saint Barthélemy

Information from Saint-Barthélemly indicated that the island's inhabitants were in need of internet communications. Télécoms Sans Frontières was able to set up a Wi-Fi zone to allow the local population to use their own smartphones to access the internet, connect with social media and to communicate quickly with loved ones. TSF's support provides a quick, scalable solution that rapidly empowers people, but without tying up valuable voice phone lines.

Update: 20/09/2017