Shaken In Nepal

Written by Glen and Julie Bradley, IT/Telecommunications volunteers with the American Red Cross Emergency Relief Unit in Nepal, who were deployed immediately following the earthquake to restore critical communications in the region. The aftershocks, which have been rolling across Kathmandu sporadically since April 25, shake the region almost as much as the initial 7.8 quake. People are skittish of enclosed spaces. Families whose homes are still standing continue to sleep in the open. Aid workers sleep jumpily in the few so-called ‘earthquake proof’ hotels – a claim that basically gives you time to run from the building before it collapses. Those of us who brought tents vie for the best empty space—the grassy grounds of a nearby hotel closed since the quake. Space is tight as International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) relief units from all over the world pour into the Kathmandu airport and then push out toward the epicenter to do help among the growing need and casualties. Laying the Telecommunications Groundwork As a strange comfort, I keep my portable VHF radio close as I work, monitoring the Red Cross disaster communications network we installed a little over a year ago as part of a joint Earthquake Preparedness Program with the Danish Red Cross. Glen and I, American Red Cross IT/Telecom Emergency Response Unit (ERU) members, previously spent a month in Kathmandu and the foothills of the Himalayas installing a robust radio communications...
Source: Red Cross Chat - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: International Volunteers nepal Nepal Earthquake telecommunications Source Type: news