Vloot ‘doof in een oor’ ná koperdiefstal

2013-03-17 22:53

Die Burger

Jan-Jan Joubert

KAAPSTAD. – Koperdiefstal by die Suid-Afrikaanse Vloot se Silwermyn-kommunikasiesentrum is so erg dat dit nie meer die vloot se radiokommunikasie kan rugsteun nie.

Die vloot het twee primêre kommunikasiesentrums – die hoofstasie by Silwermyn en ’n bystandstasie in Durban, wat nou gebruik word.

Met Silwermyn buite aksie is die vloot nou “doof in een oor”, het David Maynier, DA-LP, gister gesê.

Maynier het ’n dringende beroep gedoen op Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, minister van verdediging, om in te gryp, maar weermagwoordvoerders het aan Sapa gesê hulle sal eers later in die week navrae beantwoord.

Silwermyn is ’n nasionale sleutelpunt, maar dit blyk daar is al langer as ’n jaar gelede gate in die heining gesny, maar dit is nooit herstel nie.

Daar is na verneem word twee versamelings antennas by Silwermyn – een hoër op teen die berg en een laer af. Dit lyk nie of al die antennas op militêre grond geleë is nie. Die boonste versameling het 51 antennas, wat blykbaar nou almal buite aksie is.

Volgens Maynier is meer as 5km koperkabels die afgelope jaar by Silwermyn gesteel, met geen doeltreffende optrede deur die militêre polisie nie, ten spyte van vermoedens dat weermaglede self betrokke mag wees.

Pikkie Greeff, woordvoerder van die weermagvakbond Sandu, het by navraag bevestig Silwermyn kan glad nie meer sy kommunikasiefunksie verrig nie.

Maynier het gevra dat Mapisa-Nqakula dadelik optree deur eerstens die vervalle en gebreekte heining te vervang.

Sy moet ook verseker dat radio-kommunikasie herstel word. ’n Behoorlike strafregtelike ondersoek is nodig sodat vasgestel kan word hoe dit moontlik is dat die nasionale veiligheid so ondermyn en die land so in die verleentheid gestel kan word.

Hamnet Weekly Report 10/03/2013

Looking at our normal sites from where we get information on cyclones, Tornados and earthquakes, the past week was relatively quiet with not too much to get excited about.


Global Disaster Alert & Coordination System report only two quakes during the past few days in China and Nepal with both having a minimal effect on the population in both countries.

Cyclone ‘Sandra’ off shore east of Australia seems to be playing itself out over the sea but is heading toward Papua New Guinea and north eastern Australia.

There is what is known as an Invest Area in mid Indian Ocean and not going anywhere at present but we will keep an eye on this one.

Locally it is still a very dry summer in many areas with rainfall below average and many regions having to contend with high temperatures and humidity in some parts. The summer is far from over and we will keep a wary eye on the various sites available to us on Facebook with SAWDOS and the Kobus Botha Weather photo site being the main areas of information.

The merger of SAWDOS and Hamnet on Facebook can now get my full attention. I will be contact with Johan Terblance, ZS1I during the next week or so and begin discussions with him regarding how we are going combine the two Facebook sites into a formidable weather and emergency site.

This may not be easy but we will put our heads together and come up with a new site and will be making suitable announcements in due course.

In the meantime, I think many are preparing for the school holidays whcn start soon as well as the Easter Weekend.

We will continue to monitor our emergency frequencies on an ad hoc basis but will make further announcements at a later stage.


Reporting for Hamnet, this is Francois Botha, ZS6BUU

Cable theft stops emergency services in Eastern Cape

Cable theft has interrupted emergency services in Queenstown, the Eastern Cape health department said on Friday.

"We have been flooded with complaints from the public, who could not reach our emergency services. We would like to indicate that this was caused by cable theft..." said spokesman Sizwe Kupelo.

He said last night Telkom cables were stolen in Queenstown, resulting in a total shutdown of emergency services in the area.

In December 600m of cable was stolen, which also resulted in a communication breakdown between the public and the emergency services.

"The public would call and the phone would ring with no one picking it up."

Kupelo said the cables were used to connect the public when calling both the 10177 line and the 082112 line for emergency services.

The main affected units were Queenstown Emergency Services and Komani Psychiatric Hospital.

He said for emergency services the public should use 083-378-0631 and not the normal emergency numbers.

- Times Live

Hams ready as typhoon hits twice

The powerful Typhoon Bopha that killed at least 600 people and left many missing in southern Philippines last week, made an unexpected U-turn to hit the northern part of the archipelago.

Active during both disasters were the planned ham radio networks, organised through the national IARU society, the Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA).

When the typhoon was first seen on the weather radar heading for the southern island of Mindanao, PARA was hosting its 80th birthday celebrations in Manila.

Almost immediately it asked for the nets to be activated on VHF and for long haul traffic 7095 kHz, echo-link and Facebook.

What unfolded was an outstanding effort for the amateur radio community that included evacuations of riverside and low-lying communities and coordination of rescues including those at sea.

The networks played an important coordination role in the south with the Disaster Response Team of the Philippine Red Cross, Delta Fire Volunteers, and the Coastguard.

Among the action was DX5RAN, the District 5 Radio Amateur Network. That net worked with the City Government of Tacloban and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council. There were many other radio amateurs involved.

Rescuers there were faced with rocks, mudslides and rubble where houses once stood. More than 1,000 were injured and about 370,000 are in temporary shelter areas.

The Philippines is counting its huge economic losses in the south, including the loss of valuable export banana plantations at Mindanao.

Humanitarian agencies estimate 5.4 million people affected by the typhoon urgently need food, drinkable water and shelter after Bopha wiped out 90 per cent of houses in the worst-hit towns in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

In the north last weekend the typhoon did a U-turn, and although downgraded to a tropical storm hit a country already having 16 severe weather incidents in the past year.

The emergency nets of PARA were again active as heavy rains and wind came ashore at North Luzon.
The Vice Chief Operating Officer of PARA, Ramon J. Anquilan DU1UGZ, said both nets were now closed.

He thanked the worldwide community for their assistance in coordinating the activities so that the calling frequency was not burdened by superfluous transmissions.

Jim Linton VK3PC
Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee.

- Southgate Amateur Radio News

How science is replacing pigs: Flood forecasting in the Philippines

When monsoon rains arrive in the Philippines the floodwaters rise and for some, the cries of pigs raise the alarm. Already this year, hundreds of thousands of people living in the Metropolitan Manila area have been forced to leave their homes to escape the water. But increasingly, knowing more about the science behind how and when the floods will come is helping local people deal with the deluges.

The charity Christian Aid - with added support from the UK government - is working with both locals and scientists across the country to help get vital early-warning flood information to communities, before the floods engulf homes and threaten lives.

Here, see how a mother of five - armed with a walkie-talkie and a megaphone - works as a flood monitor in her neighbourhood when the rains come.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19977941

- BBC

Link provided by Frank Robb

Over 20 million tweets sent as Sandy struck

(Reuters) - Twitter users flocked to the micro-messaging network this week as Hurricane Sandy swept through the eastern U.S. seaboard, sending more than 20 million tweets about the storm between Saturday and Thursday, the company said.

This far exceeds the 13.7 million tweets sent during the Super Bowl in February, typically the largest media event of the year.

Founded in 2006, Twitter has sought to position itself as a "second screen" media product that users can pull up on their smartphones while watching events like the Super Bowl or the Olympics" onclick="Reuters.article.trackInlineLink(30)">Olympics on television.

But the service has shone as a communication channel during major disasters, such as in the wake of the 2011 tsunami in Japan" onclick="Reuters.article.trackInlineLink(14)">Japan.

Twitter, which has been susceptible to occasional outages, stayed up glitch-free this week, serving at times as a vital source of information for afflicted residents.

The number of times that users in New York City loaded their home timeline from a mobile device peaked around 9 p.m. Monday night, around the time an explosion at a Consolidated Edison transformer knocked out power, more than doubling the total from the previous two days, the company said, without providing details.

The 20 million tweets included the terms "sandy," "hurricane," "#sandy," and "#hurricane," the company said.

(Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Richard Chang)

- Reuters

Americans take to social media to help

Washington - As the US East Coast slowly cleaned up from superstorm Sandy, those hoping to help the millions without power or food took to tweeting, posting and crowdsourcing on Wednesday to mobilize much-needed aid.

The storm has devastated New York City and neighbouring New Jersey, killed dozens of people in several states, swamped miles of coastline, and left millions in the dark and some urban public transport systems paralysed.

On Twitter, users adopted the hashtags #sandyaid and #sandyvolunteer to ask for relief or find out how they could help, and crowdsourced maps sprung up online showing functioning Wi-Fi spots or places where supplies are available.

"In east Williamsburg, how can I help?" @honeybaked_sam tweeted, getting a prompt reply from Brooklyn-based lifestyle guide @BrooklynExposed, which posted a link to nearby volunteering opportunities.

Jessica Lawrence, managing director of NY Tech Meetup - a non-profit organization that supports the technology community in New York - said she had reached out to her 28 000-plus members through Twitter and Facebook.

Already 140 tech-savvy people were on standby to help stricken schools, businesses and other entities to get back on their feet, to provide assistance with tech-related issues such as data recovery.

But in hard-hit Lower Manhattan, many of those in need were still lacking power and Lawrence said the challenge was how to connect with them, though some were now making their way to places with electricity and Internet access.

She added that social networks had been particularly useful to connect with other relief organizations, and make sure they worked together rather than overlapping in their efforts.

"I don't think it would have been nearly as easy without social media," she said.

Other organizations used social networks to gather practical information for storm victims and put them on interactive online maps.

The Watershed Post, for instance - an online news source for counties in mountainous areas north of New York City - launched a crowdsourced map locating closed or reopened roads, places to get help or zones in need of aid.

Another crowdsourced map focusing on the New York City area - pinpointed places where free Wi-Fi was available and working.

One widely re-tweeted initiative allowed web users to go to a site called recovers.org and click on a specific stricken location - they can either request assistance or write a list of items they are willing to give away.

A volunteer running the initiative in the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn told AFP the initiative was "very successful" and that she had been able to connect people with those who could help them.

In New Jersey, meanwhile, JSHN - a news outlet set up after Hurricane Irene struck in 2011 - used its Facebook page as a platform to enable people to help each other out.

"Where can we find gas, food, ice, generators, etc???" read one post on the page that had garnered 215 comments so far from web users listing specific addresses and shops where these items were available.

- AFP/News24

Internet survives Sandy storm

The Inlet section of Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy makes it approach. (6abc Action News, Dann Cuellar/ AP)

San Francisco - Despite outages at a few well-known websites and ripple effects that occasionally slowed communications around the country, the internet came through the massive storm that swamped New York and New Jersey with relatively minor problems.

Built for resiliency and buttressed by the adoption of cloud computing, the internet functioned largely as it was supposed to, industry experts said, routing around major disruptions in one of its central network locations, New York City.

"You don't hear about big content providers going offline anymore," said Jeffrey Young, a spokesperson for major delivery network Akamai Technologies, which has servers spread among some 1 100 communications set-ups. "We can route around issues that are occurring."

New York has two major exchange centres where US backbone telecommunication providers meet data from undersea cables, said Doug Madory, senior analyst at Renesys, which monitors internet response times.

A number of network addresses were inaccessible on Tuesday afternoon, including many in the New York area, and connection times for others were slower than normal, he said, but the disruptions were limited.

Flooding

Still, a handful of popular websites, including Google's YouTube, AOL's Huffington Post, and the network of sites owned by Gawker Media, did experience outages.

Social news site BuzzFeed and News Corp's financial site MarketWatch were also reduced to bare-bones versions as they regrouped on Tuesday.

At least some of the problems were the direct result of data centres losing power and being unable to fuel their own generators because of flooding.

Most websites use commercial data centres rather than running their own computer servers, in part to ensure security and stability in emergencies. Many of those data centres offer back-up services elsewhere.

But New York data centres, including Internap and Datagram, went down due to the power and flooding problems. BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and Gawker all crashed because of Datagram.

"How dumb to locate datacentre in a flood zone. And how dumb to host Gawker servers there," Gawker founder Nick Denton wrote on Twitter.

The company moved to blog platform Tumblr for a while, one of a number of creative workarounds made easier by more advanced web offerings. BuzzFeed moved everything onto Akamai and Amazon's web services arm.

Skeletal platform

An AOL spokesperson said after Huffington Post's main data centre went under that it had shifted to a backup data system in Newark. That worked until all three telecom firms serving that location went down.

"At approximately 3:30 am [03:30], network connectivity failed at the backup data centre when all three of its providers each separately failed," said AOL's Erin Kurtz.

Huffington Post switched to a skeletal blog platform until it recovered at eight hours later.

Dow Jones and Datagram could not be reached immediately for comment. YouTube refused to say why it became unavailable, but Google's New York headquarters was closed by the storm. The company said the video site was available, if slow, for most users by Tuesday evening.

Many large and mid-sized companies adopted disaster planning for data after the 11 September 2001, attacks, making sure to have duplicates of core data in different locations. Smaller firms have taken the same route by moving to cloud computing, which generally spreads data across multiple facilities.

"The whole point of the cloud is that companies are insulated from outages really of any sort, absent a giant nuclear disaster," said Bernard Golden, vice president at enStratus Networks, a cloud software company.

"You want your provider to have facilities in disparate-enough locations so that even if you have problems in a particular region, your service is still available."

- Reuters/News24

Uniondale: Kommunikasiemas vervang met kleiner een

Die 30m-hoë kommunikasiemas op Mannetjiesberg naby Uniondale wat middel-Julie tydens swaar sneeuneerslae omgeval het, gaan waarskynlik met ‘n kleiner mas vervang word.

UNIONDALE NUUS - Die 30m-hoë kommunikasiemas op Mannetjiesberg naby Uniondale wat middel-Julie tydens swaar sneeuneerslae omgeval het, gaan waarskynlik met ‘n kleiner mas vervang word.

Gerhard Otto, hoof van Eden Rampbestuur, het vroeër vandag gesê ‘n mas van sowat 12 tot 15m behoort voldoende te wees.

Die mas, wat radiosein en Telkom-telefoon-verbinding aan ‘n groot deel van die Klein-Karoo en nooddienste verskaf, is sedertdien tydelik herstel deur J&E Communications, ‘n private instansie, in samewerking met ‘n paar boere van die omgewing.

- Oudtshoorn Courant

Uniondale: Kommunikasiemas deels herstel

Werkers dra 'n kragopwekker na die kommunikasiemas op Mannetjiesberg. Radioverbinding is tydelik herstel nadat die mas middel-Julie weens 'n swaar sneeulas omgeval het. Foto: Verskaf

UNIONDALE NUUS - Noodsaaklike radioverbinding vanaf die kommunikasieto-ring op Mannetjiesberg by Uniondale is grotendeels herstel, maar telefoonverbinding is steeds 'n probleem.

"Boere en hul werkers, 'n span van CapeNature en mense van Eden rampbestuur het Vrydag tydelike herstelwerk bo-op Mannetjiesberg gaan doen," het John Fraser van J&E Communications, wat die herstelwerk beplan het, vroeër die week gesê.

Die Oudtshoorn Courant het verlede week berig oor die kommunikasietoring wat middel-Julie omgeval het weens tonne sneeu en ys wat op die staalstruktuur saamgepak het en landbouers in 'n gebied van sowat 150vk km sonder radio- en telefoon-ontvangs gelaat het.

"Altesaam 21 mense, wat boere en hul werkers, 10 werkers van Cape-Nature en 'n reddingswerker van Eden rampbestuur insluit, is Vrydagoggend die berg uit met ekstra sonpanele en nuwe batterye, 'n kragopwekker en gereedskap sowel as ekstra antennes en antenne-kabels," het John Fraser van J&E Communications, wat die herstelwerk beplan het, gesê.

"Die swaar toerusting is die laaste ent teen die steil berghang uit gedra. Ons het die stukkende sonpanele vervang en die batterye installeer om die antennes van elektrisiteit te voorsien. Van die gebreekte antennes is ook vervang."

Volgens die oorspronklike beplanning sou Telkom ekstra sonpanele en die swaar toerusting per helikopter na die bergtop neem. Die planne het egter Donderdagaand deur die mat geval en die toerusting moes toe die berg uitgedra word. Telkom se telefoonverbinding, wat in die afgesonderde landelike gebied sonder selfoonsein onontbeerlik is, is steeds wisselvallig.

"Ons was vir drie weke afgesny," het Jasper Retief, polisiereservis in die gebied gesê. Retief het die erns van die situasie verlede week onder Piet Lodder, hoofbestuurder van Agri Klein Karoo se aandag gebring en die bal is aan die rol gesit.

Retief, Henkie du Plessis, voorsitter van Agri De Rust en Laurence Howell, voorsitter van Agri Uniondale, het met hul bakkies en werkers die toerus-ting help vervoer en die steil berghang aangedurf.

- Oudtshoorn Courant

Noodnommer word misbruik

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - "Ons lede ondervind tans groot frustrasie met kinders en gekskeerders wie onophoudelik die 10111 nommer bel," sê die woordvoerder van die Da Gamaskop SAPD, Kapt/ein Wollie Fourie.

Hy versoek die gemeenskap om name van oortreders te rapporteer, sodat die polisie hulle dienslewering kan verbeter.

Indien jy inligting het oor wie by hierdie oproepe betrokke is, kan jy Majoor Ans Terblanche kontak by 082 821 0538. Alle inligting sal vertroulik hanteer word.

- Mossel Bay Advertiser

Klein-Karoo steeds seinloos na mas knak

Tonne sneeu en ys soos op hierdie toring het veroorsaak dat die kommunikasie-mas op Mannetjiesberg by Uniondale omgeval het en vernietig is. Foto: John Fraser, J&E Communications

OUDTSHOORN NUUS - Onderbroke radio- en telefoonseine in die landelike gebiede in die Uniondale-omge-wing behoort teen vanaand herstel te wees.

'n Kommunikasiemas van sowat 30 m op Mannetjiesberg het die naweek van 14 en 15 Julie tydens gure weer weens die gewig van sneeu en ys omgeval en sonpanele wat batterye van die senders van energie voorsien, vernietig. Dit het veroorsaak dat tientalle huishoudings in die gebied waar nie selfoonontvangs is nie, sonder telefoon- of radioverbinding is.

Die toring, wat aan die weermag behoort, bedien Telkom se telefoondiens, sowel as 'n radio-kommunikasienetwerk wat deur CapeNature, die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens, Eden-distriksmunisipaliteit se rampbestuur-eenheid en J&E Communications op Oudts-hoorn. J&E Communications voorsien sein vir tweerigtingradio's wat deur die boerderygemeenskap gebruik word.

Daar is hierdie week hard gewerk om die sonpanele te vervang en radiosenders tydelik op te rig sodat die diens hervat kan word. Dit is onseker wanneer die vernietigde mas vervang sal word.

Intussen is 'n helikopter Woensdag inge-span om nuwe sonpanele en gelaaide batterye na die hoogste punt van Mannetjiesberg te neem. 'n Kragopwekker sal ook na die toneel geneem word sodat die verwronge staal van die mas opgesny kan word om toegang te kry tot 'n hut met radiotoerusting wat deur die vallende mas beskadig is. Senders sal tydelik opgerig word om sein te stuur.

Werknemers van Telkom en J&E Communications en landbouers van die omgewing sal of met die helikopter of met hul viertrekvoertuie so na as moontlik aan die mas kom om te help.

"Dit is 'n groot werk, maar ons moet dit afhandel voordat die volgende koue front ons tref," het John Fraser van J&E Communications gesê. "Dit is bitter gevaarlik om in snerpende koue op die berg te werk."

Die senders moet in aller yl in werking gestel word voordat nog gure weer die omgewing tref en
'n krisis in 'n ramp verander weens gebrek aan kommunikasie.

"Sedert die toring omgewaai het is Telkom-dienste in die omgewing van Buffelsklip tussen Uniondale en Oudtshoorn, en Georgida tussen Uniondale en Willowmore onderbreek," het Lawrence Howell, voorsitter van Agri Uniondale vroeër die week gesê. "Selfoonontvangs in die gebied is swak, wat beteken daar is geen kommunikasie met die inwoners in die gebied nie,"

Volgens Howell woon daar sowat 600 mense in die gebied van nagenoeg 150 vierkante kilometer.

"Sowat 10 huishoudings in die Agri De Rust-gebied is sonder kommunikasie," het Henkie du Plessis, voorsitter van Agri De Rust gesê. "Op baie van die plase is net plek-plek op hoërliggende gebiede selfoonontvangs."

Hierdie mas op Mannetjiesberg naby Uniondale het weens swaar sneeu en ys wat tonne weeg omgeval en die sonpanele op die dak en langs J&E Communications se toerustinghut vernietig. Dit het daartoe gelei dat radio- en telefoonseine onderbreek is.

-- Oudtshoorn Courant

FCC seeks emergency response upgrade

“Like science fiction, it is technologically complex,” Julius Genachowski said. | AP Photo

The FCC launched a proceeding Thursday to explore whether communications can be restored after natural disasters or emergencies by putting specially equipped drones or other aircraft in the air.

While the commission action sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, Deployable Aerial Communications Architecture in Emergency Communications has the ability to temporarily restore critical communications — including emergency response and 911 calling — when land-based services are knocked out.

“Like science fiction, it is technologically complex,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, before the panel’s unanimous vote. “But it’s not that hard to understand, if you imagine a cell tower that is floating or flying in the sky.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, it knocked out dozens of 911 call centers, and millions of people lost their telephone service. DACA-enabled aircraft could fill in the gap until land-based communications are restored.

Before the new service can take off, however, the commission needs to figure out whether there will be interference problems between a DACA-enabled aircraft and ground communications, how to activate the technology and who will be in charge of it.

The FCC isn’t going to launch its own air force, but some commissioners believe that using technology like the military uses on the battlefield can have peaceful applications.

But it isn’t just the military that is using the technology, as it also is being used by oil companies to monitor industrial processes in remote areas, said Jerry Knoblach, chairman and CEO of Space Data, an Arizona company that provides wireless services and solutions for businesses and government.

While drones grab people’s attention, Space Data’s technology uses a version of the weather balloon that floats high in the atmosphere above the thunderstorm level.

Placing the balloons at different altitudes allows them to be “steered” as they capture winds that blow in different directions depending on how high they are in the sky, Knoblach explained.

While the technology is attention grabbing, some at the commission don’t think it will ever get off the ground.

Naysayers will get a chance to have their input as the commission begins its inquiry into the feasibility of the technology.

Still, the idea is capturing the imagination of the commissioners.

“This item demonstrates what the commission can do at its best,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “Provide vision that brings together the communications industry and the government to find creative ways to serve the public.”

- POLITICO

Alternative Power: SAWDOS DIY Wind Turbine Project

As mentioned before I intended to build a larger wind turbine from scrap.  Here is the latest prototype that I constructed.  The blades were cut from PVC while the stand is just a test bench.  The aim was to test the turbine with the blades fitted.  Unfortunately there was very little wind the past three days and I now have to wait for the wind to play ball.  Please note that this is just a prototype and that I will definitely make further changes to the turbine stand and blades.  The turbine is also in need of a tail and auto shutdown, rectifier and power controller.  I will update these pages as I make progress with the project. This turbine will provide enough power to the SAWDOS in the event of a nationwide blackout or a local disaster. Best of all it does not cost a arm and a leg and the power is for free.

Images: SAWDOS (Click on image for larger view.)


More info and projects: http://msbmadscientist.blogspot.com/

How Is Twitter Being Used During Disasters?

Twitter is a real-time social network, so it is a naturally good fit as an emergency communication tool. But just how are we actually using it to share information in times of trouble?

A study from North Carolina State University explores how people used Twitter during the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan, finding that Twitter doesn’t really change what we communicate but it certainly increases the speed at which we do it.

Dr. Andrew Binder, the study’s author, explains to eScienceNews why he is interested in using Twitter as an emergency communication tool:

“I knew people would be sharing information, but I wanted to see whether it was anecdotal or substantive, and whether users were providing analysis and placing information in context. In the bigger picture, I wanted to see whether social media is changing the way we communicate, or if we are communicating the same way using different tools.”

He examined tweets that contained the words “Fukushima Daiichi”, the name of the Japanese power plant that experienced severe damage after the earthquake and tsunami last year. He chose every 20th tweets from between March 11th and 25th, just after the onset of the disaster, as his sample.

The study’s findings showed that Twitter might not help us share information that we wouldn’t have found otherwise, but it definitely helps us share information faster than ever before.

Overall, 15 percent of the tweets contained some mention of the risk and danger involved in the nuclear disaster, while 17.7 percent put it into some kind of context – but, especially in the early days following the disaster, these two often did not overlap. Dr. Binder notes that it was not until interest in the events had started to wane that people began tweeting about the risk and its context in a meaningful way.

And people were sharing information about the disaster on Twitter that they likely would have found through another channel eventually: 62.7 percent of all links shared pointed to traditional news outlets.

In the end, it looks like Twitter users were sharing news items, warnings and context as they were made available, almost in real-time, but they weren’t sharing any new information that wasn’t available elsewhere.

Twitter’s place in emergency communication is still being carved out, but the ability to share news and warnings nearly instantaneously with a large group of people is without a doubt something that will continue to be used during emergencies in the future.

- Lauren Dugan

'Promote use of amateur radios in rescues'

Pic by Iqmal Haqim Rosman

KUALA LUMPUR: Amateur radios could be the key to communicate with people in distress and, therefore, collaboration between government agencies and amateur radio users should be intensified.

Information Department director-general Ibrahim Abd Rahman said integration between the two should be encouraged as it helped the agencies to build good rapport and teamwork spirit.

He said agencies like the Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Department (JPA3), police, Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), hospitals, Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Department of Civil Aviation should work together with amateur radio users.

"Working together will ensure search and rescue (SAR) missions are carried out more efficiently and professionally," he said at the opening of Hamfest Malaysia 2012, while representing deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz.

Ibrahim said Hamfest Malaysia could be a platform for these agencies to exchange information and knowledge with each other and forge friendship with the public.
Next year's Hamfest Festival, he said, would be grander and located at a better location to show the government's commitment. The two-day affair, which ended yesterday, attracted 5,000 enthusiasts.

"We may also organise such festivals in other states, especially in Kelantan as there are many amateur radio users there."

He added that places like Gua Musang had weak communication signals, hence the rise in the number of amateur radio users there.

"We had a request from organisers of Hamfest Malaysia and that was to reduce, and, if possible, abolish the sales tax of amateur radio equipment. I think it could be discussed at the higher level of the ministry and I will make sure it does."

He said Malaysia was nowhere on the amateur radio world map because there were only 10,000 amateur radio users in the country, or less than one per cent of the population.

"Thailand has more than 176,278 users, Indonesia has 27,815 while Japan has the highest users with more than a million users."

Hamfest festival organiser Azli Paat said radio frequencies could reach over 3,000km and even communicate with people in space.

"We have spoken with people at the International Space Station (ISS) using the radio."

He said during a natural disaster, phone lines go dead and communication becomes a problem.

"Satellite phones are expensive. With radio, you are also in contact with other users around you and that comes in handy during an emergency."

He said there were hopes to establish links with government agencies so they could work together during natural disasters.

"This could be used as a leverage by them, just like the tsunami in Aceh recently."
He said during a mission to Gaza, radios would be more effective than satellite phones because messages from radio cannot be stopped.

He said besides natural disasters, radios were also key for search and rescue efforts.

"When people go missing during hikes or mountain climbing, radio becomes the only life-saver," he said at the festival in Taman Metropolitan Batu, Jalan Ipoh.

Azli, who described amateur radio users as the first form of social networking worldwide, said some radios could also be used underwater.

He said radio had become a quick tool for help even during emergencies, like running out of fuel while driving or a punctured tyre.

"You may call for help and if there is anyone near you, help could be just around the corner."
Amateur radios could also be crucial for neighbourhood watch and convoy trips that involved many vehicles.

He warned that many did not know that buying, selling and using a radio without licence is against the law.

"Anyone caught using such equipment without a licence can be jailed up to three years and fined RM100,000."


- New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/

Communication Is Aid

In any emergency, be it natural disaster or man-made, people's lives are turned upside down. Knowing what's happening, where to go for assistance and who to call for help is crucial to their survival and recovery. The goal of http://www.infoasaid.org is to help humanitarian organisations integrate two way communication into their emergency programmes. This in turn will improve the quality and coverage of humanitarian response. The 'Communication is Aid' animation is designed to demonstrate the positive impact of two way communication with crisis affected populations.

- infoasaid.org

10111 foul mouthed phone operator to be investigated

The Independent Complaints Directorate will investigate a complaint about a 10111 operator swearing at head of news and Crime Line Yusuf Abramjee.

"I can confirm that I have instructed the director of investigations of the national office to investigate. It is the role of the ICD is ensure proper police conduct," ICD executive director Francois Beukman said on Monday.

"The 10111 is a last lifeline for members of the public... we are taking this very seriously."

The official complaint by Ambramjee, who said he was sworn at while making a 10111 call on Sunday, was laid with the ICD and the office of provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Mzwandile Petros through his spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila.

Ambramjee, the head of Lead SA, said on Monday he called 10111 around 2.30pm on Sunday after he suspected four men in a car, in Laudium, near Pretoria, were dealing in drugs.

He said a woman operator answered. He asked her to please send a vehicle. She said she would and hung up without taking any details.

"I called back about three or four times and every time she hung up on me. I called back again and she responded: 'F**k off'. This was around 2.43pm."

Ambramjee called again and asked to speak to the commander and was told he was on lunch. He was then put through to a supervisor who was very apologetic and immediately took the details.

"But by the time the police came these guys had left."

Beukman said the ICD would await the outcome of the investigation and make the necessary recommendations to the police.

Malila could not immediately be reached for comment.

- Times Live

Disaster with cyclone communication

Richards Bay - Cyclone Irina emergency numbers released by the department of co-operative government and traditional affairs (Cogta) at a press briefing in Zululand on Saturday evening are incorrect.

And in one of the areas where the incorrect numbers for disaster help were quoted in a statement, uMkhanyakude District Municipality, three men were reported drowned on Sunday.

Another man was reported drowned in Hlabisa; which also falls under uMkhanyakude.

Phoning on Sunday to verify the numbers, The Zululand Fever found that four of the numbers allocated to district disaster lines yielded no results. Eleven numbers were quoted on the release.

All four numbers within the northern KwaZulu-Natal area on the list - believed to be most affected by the cyclone - were useless.

Amajuba and uThukela had a fax-like tone; uMkhanyakude’s number simply did not exist and Zululand District’s number rang and then connected to an alternative line, which also just rang.

All four numbers were contacted numerous times by The Zululand Fever.

What is a cyclone?

One disaster call centre employee at a northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality with a functioning disaster line, asked what a cyclone was. She then said they had received no update on the situation.

Another call centre employee at a northern KZN municipality asked The Zululand Fever to phone an alternative number; which led to another "alternative" number and eventually to a third "alternative" number.

The employee also said that policy was to phone the municipality, which would get in touch with a ward councillor, who would get in touch with disaster management.

When asked how long the disaster centre expected a man or woman stuck on their rooftop to dial alternative lines while their home was flooding, the operator said she wasn’t quite sure.

An employee at the KwaZulu-Natal disaster management centre in Pietermaritzburg told The Zululand Fever that the numbers were double-checked before being issued.

However, The Zululand Fever has since ascertained that the number for uMkhanyakude has not been operational since 2010.

uMkhanyakude’s disaster management confirmed that this was, in fact, "an old number".

The only number in the Northern KZN area on the list that was working and manned by an operator who knew the situation and was on hand to give information was the uThungulu District Municipality - which includes uMhlathuze (Richards Bay), Umlalazi, Nkandla, Mfolozi, Ntambanana and Mthonjaneni municipalities.

This does not bode well for the planning and implementation of Cogta’s or KZN’s disaster management policy.

An emergency meeting was called in Richards Bay on Saturday at the City of uMhlathuze (incorporating Richards Bay, Empangeni and other areas) municipality to discuss disaster management plans.

The KwaZulu-Natal cabinet EXCO was present.

Emergency meeting

It was at this meeting that the statement with the incorrect numbers was released.

Cogta spokesperson Vernon Mchunu was made aware of the problems with the incorrect numbers by The Zululand Fever on Sunday evening and said he would "inform the relevant people to look into the situation".

He said a meeting is to be convened on Monday where the matter is likely to be brought up.

In a press release issued at 19:30 on Sunday evening, Cogta reported that one infant and three female passengers died near Richards Bay on Saturday evening in an accident said to be due to the rains.

In uMkhanyakude District, a wall collapsed on a 56 year-old female resulting in a fractured pelvis and leg.

It further reported that in Hlabisa, the Wela River was in flood, making it difficult to cross in order to assist a maternity patient at Nhlwathi Clinic.

From Jozini to Durban, 13 minor accidents had occurred due to wet road conditions.

- News24

Cyclone communication chaos - Shocking to say the least. The SAWDOS will later post it's comments and overview on Tropical Storm Irina. This will include my opinion on how roll players responded to the storm. Do not miss this one!

Mont. ham radio operator helps with emergency communications, talks with Space Station

LIVINGSTON, Mont. — There are not many hobbies where you can relay messages for emergency personnel during an unfolding disaster one day, talk to astronauts on the International Space Station another, then talk to your buddies in Morse code at a rate of 35 words per minute, well, every day.

But that's Shields Valley resident Doug Dunn's hobby.

Dunn, a retired 65-year-old, is an amateur radio — more commonly known as "ham radio" — operator. And like so many ham radio aficionados around the world, he is passionate about the hobby.

A small den in Dunn's home 16 miles north of Livingston is dominated by radio gear. On a recent afternoon, it crackled with activity as Dunn, whose call sign is K7YD, communicated with friends using voice and rapid-fire Morse code, tapped out at a blinding pace on a semi-automatic Morse key set — the descendant of the old telegraph set of the 1800s.

Antennas — seven in all — bristle from Dunn's roof and yard. More ham radio gear is crammed into his pickup truck, a vehicle with 300,000 miles on it that Dunn says he can't replace because he's put too much work into it installing mobile ham radio equipment.

"We're all radio nuts," Dunn said of the fellowship of ham radio operators, or "hams," as they're known.

"Most of what I need I build," he said, joking, "It's a sickness for me."

Ham radio uses a multitude of frequencies across the VHF, UHF, HF and even microwave bandwidths. Operators must take and pass a Federal Communications Commission test to acquire a license, and cannot use the radio for business purposes. Bouncing signals off the ionosphere, ham radio can reach around the world.

Signals transmit better at night, when the sun's effect on the atmosphere diminishes.

Ham radio is not to be confused with citizen band radio, which uses far less powerful equipment for communicating over shorter distances, requires no license and uses only a limited number of channels.

Dunn, who's been a ham since he was 14 years old, is not the only operator in Park County — there are about 40 others — but by his reckoning, he is the only active one.

Dunn's hobby has two facets. He uses it to talk to friends around the region and the world but also to relay emergency communications when disasters strike.

And in that regard, Dunn is not just any radio operator — he's the state coordinator for 400 ham radio operators who can provide emergency communications for the state Disaster and Emergency Services. He also works directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, on emergency communications.

Locally, he's the go-to guy for Park County Disaster and Emergency Services, providing emergency communications and technical help with everything from telephones to radio repeater towers.

"I call him my emergency communications person," said Belinda Van Nurden, safety coordinator for the county DES. "No matter what goes wrong with communications, I call Doug, and he can fix it."

She recalled one winter when a storm knocked out a repeater on a hill outside Livingston.

"He went up in the middle of a blizzard" and fixed the problem, she said.

"Ham radio is a public service," Dunn said. "We're here to serve when all else fails."

And there's plenty that can fail. Standard emergency personnel radios can go down or not have the reach ham radios have. Likewise, cell phone coverage in far-flung emergencies can be nonexistent.

Standard radios and cell phones depend on microwave towers to transmit their signal, Dunn said, and even the smallest earthquake can knock out the towers' alignments.

"Our motto is, 'When All Else Fails,'" Dunn said.

He cited a long list of emergencies he's helped provide communications for, more often than not driving to the site in his pickup.

On a recent afternoon, it crackled with activity as Dunn, whose call sign is K7YD, communicated with friends using voice and rapid-fire Morse code, tapped out at a blinding pace on a semi-automatic Morse key set — the descendant of the old telegraph set of the 1800s.

During the Montana fires of 1988, he drove to Cooke City and helped relay messages.

He did the same for the floods in the Bitterroot Valley in 2000.

Then, from his home he helped manage emergency communications for Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

More recently, during floods that hit Roundup last June and the freakish winter fires on the Blackfoot Reservation last month, Dunn helped relay emergency communications, again from his home.

"They didn't have any com," he said, using amateur radio lingo, of the Blackfoot fires.

And he doesn't just assist with natural disasters — one time he even helped medical personnel track down a kidney donor.

But Dunn's ham radio hobby is not all seriousness. He enjoys chatting with friends around the world — and sometimes out of this world, like astronauts on the International Space Station.

Most of them are ham radio operators themselves, he said.

"They're lonely, shoot," he laughed.

Dunn uses computers tied to his radios to track the space station, which he can communicate with only when it's in a certain position overhead.

"Yeah! It's a lot of fun," he said.

While the age of the Internet has somewhat reduced the number of ham radio operators, it has also had a benefit — greatly improved technology, including those computers Dunn uses to track the space station, and satellites.

Dunn said he and hams around the world use 56 satellites rotating the earth to transmit voice, data and Morse code.

But not everything has to be high-tech to rock around the world. When the atmospheric conditions are just right, you hardly even need an antenna.

"I've worked Hawaii on a bedspring," Dunn said.

And he meant, literally, a bed spring. One of his buddies even used a stove pipe as an antenna to talk to Russia.

Dunn's favorite part of his hobby is using Morse code.

"Morse was the original communications mode," said Dunn, who is a federally licensed radio telegraph operator.

As he listened to a cacophony of jumbled simultaneous Morse coming over his radio, he was able to pick out that it was, in fact four different hams sending out the signals.

"There's a Japanese station right there," he said of one of the operators, hearing the prefix "J'' on the call sign that identified the ham as being from Japan.

"I enjoy the fellowship of the hobby," he said of being a ham radio operator. "I've got friends all over the world and friends I haven't even made yet."

He added, "It's a hobby of incredible scope."

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Information from: Livingston Enterprise, livingstonenterprise.com">http://www.livingstonenterprise.com