Telecoms comes to aid of flood victims

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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has deployed 25 satellite terminals in Zambia to help restore communication links cut by severe flooding.

The ITU will be providing Thuraya hand-held satellite phones and Inmarsat Global Area Network (GAN) terminals.

The Thuraya satellite phones can work on both satellite and GSM networks as well as provide GPS satellite positioning coordinates, which have the potential to aid in relief and rescue.

The Inmarsat GAN terminals will be used for voice communications as well as the transfer of data. The ITU said that they were easily transportable by road and air. The agency will be paying for all the costs.

Floods have affected nearly 400,000 people across the southern African country. Homes and schools had collapsed, with roads and communication links destroyed.

"The satellite terminals that ITU provided are critical for an effective response to this to this unprecedented rainfall," said Shuller Habeenzu, chief executive of the communications authority of Zambia.

"[It has] inundated many parts of the country causing severe flooding, destruction of infrastructure, damage to homes and the displacement of many people,"

The ITU hosted a global forum on the effective use of telecommunications for disaster management in December last year. It brought together government officials, telecom CEOs, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations.

It launched a number of emergency initiatives aimed at ensuring that telecom resources were available before, during and after disasters.

The ITU said that this was vital for governmental and humanitarian aid agencies involved in rescue operations, medical assistance and recovery.

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