Pacific Risk Management Ohana by Edward H Young

Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana by Edward H. Young, Jr. NOAA/NWS/Pacific Region at the NOAA 2011 SRDC Conference

In the Pacific Islands region, PRi. MO has been bringing regional organizations and US agencies coming together with their state, territorial, and local counterparts, along with universities, NGOs, and the private sector, to work together on enhancing the resilience of island communities to natural hazards and climate change.

PRi. MO adds value to the work of government agencies by sharing resources, leveraging investments, and encouraging active collaboration. Our collaboration saves money, improves service delivery, and strengthens regional capacity to manage climate and hazard risks.

PRi. MO collaborative efforts include improvements in public access to hazard and risk information, upgrades to emergency communications networks, and assessments of risk and vulnerability for our communities. PRi. MO also contributes to regional climate service development, hazard mitigation planning, and the integration of science and traditional knowledge.

Vision and Mission Create an informed and inspired Pacific community that has a comprehensive understanding of natural as well as human-induced hazards risks, uses best thinking and best practices, and through shared resources makes the best social and economic decisions. Increase collaboration to improve the development, delivery, and application of risk management products and services for Pacific communities.

Organizational Structure Navigators: Working Groups (Huis): Executive Director, Chair and Vice-Chair Data management and Observations National Oceanic and Atmospheric Risk Reduction and Post Disaster Evaluation Administration Data Analysis and Decision Support Tools Environmental Protection Agency Region IX Communications FEMA Region IX Mitigation Division Education and Outreach U. S. Geological Survey, Western Region Traditional Knowledge and Practices Geography Training U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory Pacific Disaster Center East-West Center University of Hawai’i Social Science Research Institute

Adapted from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s original map design by i. Wave Solutions, Inc. for the Pacific RISA Program . In 2009, PRi. MO held its first meeting in the Western Pacific with 80 participants from 9 different island jurisdictions attending.

Adapted from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s original map design by i. Wave Solutions, Inc. for the Pacific RISA Program . In March, 2011, PRi. MO held its first meeting in the south Pacific with 70 participants from 8 different island jurisdictions attending.

American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono stated that preparedness is one step toward building resilience, and that we need to target our education and outreach efforts with more specific messages to elicit better responses to warning messages, such as to the elderly. But, we have many challenges to getting warning messages from local officials to the last mile within each village.

FEMA Region IX Pacific Area Office (PAO) • Serves as a liaison and advisor for Pacific jurisdictions and FEMA ◦ Area of responsibility (AOR) includes: * State of Hawai’i Territory of American Samoa Territory of Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (CNMI) HAWAI’I GUAM FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESI A (FSM) REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS AMERICAN (RMI) SAMOA *FEMA may support the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in responding to a disaster in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). 10

FEMA Role • FEMA coordinates Federal disaster response ◦ Conducts response operations in partnership with State or Territorial, Tribal, and local governments; interagency Federal partners; nongovernmental organizations; and the private sector • FEMA acts as the lead coordinator of Federal tactical emergency communications operations during disasters ◦ Integrates Federal assets to provide: Incident coordination communications for leadership Connectivity among key response facilities Tactical communications for responders in the field, including temporary Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks Temporary restoration of communications infrastructure ◦ Supplies connectivity to the FEMA-hosted Joint Field Office (JFO) facility Internet/ Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) EOC/ JFO 11

FEMA both provides and consumes technology • As provider: ◦ FEMA coordinates spectrum ◦ FEMA provides connectivity, service, and bandwidth for response communications technologies sa te lli JFO/EOC/Responders te LM R FEMA Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) assets Internet / PSTN Photos courtesy of FEMA/Glen Gorud and Dave Gonzalez • As consumer ◦ FEMA and State or Territorial partners consume response technologies in fixed facilities and the field 12

Pacific Issues on a good day • Distances among/between jurisdictions and CONUS ◦ PAO AOR covers 5. 6 million square miles ◦ Only three to four commercial flights per week between Hawai’i and other jurisdictions in AOR • Commercial and public safety service limitations ◦ Interoperability within State or Territory ◦ Availability of digital and advanced technologies ◦ Capacity (systems and available devices) ◦ Spectrum conflicts ◦ Long-haul bandwidth • Communications infrastructure limitations ◦ Coverage ◦ Legal/cultural impediments to equipment deployment/upgrades • Terrain • Languages in use • Funding limitations Photos courtesy of FEMA/Glen Gorud 13

Pacific Issues on a bad day • Distance between affected area and response assets ◦ Air bridge limitations • Communications infrastructure limitations ◦ Vulnerability to natural hazards ◦ Limited alternate pathways for internal communications Photo courtesy of FEMA/Dean Zierman ◦ Limited alternate pathways for long-haul communications ◦ Lack of reliable alternatives to commercial power ◦ Lack of spare equipment/repair technicians • Commercial and public safety service limitations ◦ Interoperability (with non-public-safety agencies and incoming responders) ◦ Capacity (available devices and system ability to accommodate incoming responders) ◦ Spectrum (State or Territorial and Federal; availability and conflicts) 14

Technology Needed Issue • Distance and air bridge limitations Requirement • Small, light, genuinely “person”-portable tactical communications solutions (LMR repeaters, satellite antennas, patching equipment) ◦ Can be carried on first available transport ◦ Can be brought into incident area when larger aircraft cannot land Left: Cargo compartment of a C-130 headed to Guam. The aircraft is not large enough to transport many FEMA communications vehicles. Right: Chuuk International Airport in FSM Photos courtesy of FEMA/Glen Gorud 15

Technology Needed (continued) Issues • Commercial service limitations Requirements • Emergency communications solutions developed for lowest-common-denominator environments ◦ Device/platform agnostic ◦ Minimal bandwidth consumption Example: ◦ Applications using Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging • Long-haul communications infrastructure vulnerabilities • Satellite and high frequency (HF)-based connectivity solutions • Power infrastructure vulnerabilities • Solutions independent of commercial power ◦ Compatible with multiple power supply types, low-tech as well as high-tech § • Over 22 major languages in use Car batteries as well as solar panels • Public messaging technologies capable of issuing alerts in any language/alphabet 16

Technology Needed (continued) Issues Requirements • Public safety radio system limitations ◦ Capacity ◦ Interoperability ◦ Spectrum • Low-cost standards-compliant radio handsets for incident distribution, to provide Level 1* interoperability among internal agencies and with incoming responders ◦ Compatible with legacy systems ◦ Easily reprogrammed • Cultural impediments to deployment • Technologies that minimize footprint/impact *U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) SAFECOM programdefined levels of interoperability for public safety radio communications. August 2010: Representatives from the Office of Samoan Affairs meet with a village chief to obtain a land-use agreement for a warning siren. The tower will be installed in the blue circle. Photo courtesy of FEMA/David Hoegemeyer 17

PRi. MO Communications Hui

PRi. MO Communications Hui Priorities: Improve the communications infrastructure that supports the two-way delivery of information that enhances the resilience of Pacific Island communities Identify additional communication paths and leverage resources Address dissemination gaps to the western Pacific

PRi. MO Communications Hui American Samoa Priorities: Identify requirements for multihazard communications (satellite, HF, VHF, etc. to support disaster management. Identify types of information required to be transmitted for 2 -way wireless dissemination by local authorities to each village, regardless of platform, and leverage available resources

PRi. MO Communications Hui 2011 Priorities: Replace/Refresh EMWIN systems in Pacific Island countries (Met Office/Disaster Management Offices before GOES-11 is replaced, and when PEACESAT’s rebroadcast of EMWIN on GOES-7 ends. Assess use of RANET Chatty Beetles by Met Offices and Disaster Management Offices to wake up remote island officials of an impending hazard threat Expand interoperable use of digital HF networks and VHF re-broadcast of local EMWIN broadcasts to meet the lowest capacity used by local island officials.

PRi. MO 737 Bishop Street, Suite 1550 Honolulu, HI 96813 www. primohui. org