Haiti earthquake – ETS Situation Report No. 6 (reporting period: 09/20/2021 to 10/07/2021, final position) – Haiti

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Since Haiti was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on August 14, the Global Electronic Communications Center has been coordinating with its partners to respond to ICT needs for response through its support to the national emergency communications sector. The ETS Coordinator will end his assignment on October 7 and transfer ETS coordination to the WFP-led Local ICT Working Group.

Highlights

Throughout the response to the Haiti earthquake, WEC coordinated with its partners and ICT responders on the ground to support the ICT needs of government and humanitarian response operations.

International ICT responders to Haiti were rapidly deployed in the aftermath of the earthquake and provided data connectivity and communications services to support Haitian Civil Protection units at the national and administrative level as well as the inter-agency needs of humanitarian responders.

ETS established a wireless network for security communications in Les Cayes and Jeremy by installing two VHF repeaters. The work was carried out in a collaborative effort between the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, Emergency.lu and Ericsson Response.

Situation overview and needs assessment

At 08:30 a.m. local time on August 14, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti, severely affecting areas in Le Niepce province. In the flash appeal launched on August 25, OCHA estimated that 650,000 people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance, which would require US$187.3 million to fund the response.

While the emergency communications cluster was not activated, support was provided to the Government of Haiti and the humanitarian response to the earthquake through the National Emergency Communications Sector (ETS). ETS provided a response plan and funding requirements for the flash appeal.

Access to the affected areas has been difficult throughout the response due to damage to infrastructure as well as security threats posed by non-state armed groups active in areas along the route from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes. Travel along this route was possible only with convoys organized by the logistics sector under an armed police escort. The World Food Program also provided sandal service and United Nations helicopter flights to support humanitarian operations.

The impact of the earthquake and the influx of responders into the affected areas led to congestion and issues regarding incomplete coverage by mobile network operators (MNO), data services in particular. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has supported efforts to identify communication gaps with their disaster communication map, which was developed in a joint initiative with Global ETC with support from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA). While data collected by the International Telecommunication Union show that mobile networks recovered very quickly, large parts of the affected areas were already outside of MNO coverage networks prior to the earthquake.

Internet service provider (ISP) services also suffered damage in the earthquake and were strained in the early days of the response due to the influx of humanitarian workers.

While there was a UN operational high-frequency network in the capital, at the time of the earthquake there was no UN radio network for security communications covering the affected areas in southern Haiti. The GSM network and mobile phones have been used as the primary security communications tool in key areas of operation. In light of the volatile security situation, providing a means of security communications in affected areas has been a major focus of the ETS response.

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