The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established mobile emergency response support units to ensure the availability of multiple communications systems for disaster response, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
The units operate under FEMA’s Disaster Emergency Communications segment and deploy vehicles that house various radio equipment, microwave systems for data transmission and satellite systems for video, data and voice communications.
“We are constantly monitoring chat software and collaboration software to ensure that we are producing consistent messaging. And the information flows both ways,” said Steve Goldstein, liaison of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to FEMA, in an interview with the publication.
Goldstein’s comments come after FEMA released its 2018-2022 strategic plan which details the agency's need for “redundant communication systems” to ensure uninterrupted transmission in disaster scenarios.
“There are inherent risks to relying heavily on these communications systems. We must understand their interdependencies and the potential cascading impacts that a failure could cause,” the plan states. “FEMA must work with our partners to assess the mission impacts of losing the ability to reliably communicate and prioritize meeting all-hazards communications needs.”
