The state of Louisiana relied almost exclusively on audio conferencing for its disaster response communications in the months following Hurricane Katrina. This circumstance during the largest natural disaster in the history of the United States left many important lessons. By learning these lessons, we may be able to lessen the suffering and loss of life in future disasters.

Conference calling has always been and may always be the voice communications tool of choice in disasters. The telephone is the most ubiquitous piece of communications technology on the planet. No other type of voice communications system can handle a large number of people at the same time. In an emergency situation, these may be people who don’t know each other, but who must come together for a common purpose: saving lives and solving problems. Furthermore, audio conferencing systems are designed to handle communications at different scales: from a few people to hundreds and thousands of people at once. What should a first responder, political leader, or concerned citizen look for when selecting a conference call provider capable of being there for them in a crisis? Here is a short checklist:

1. Tested in a crisis? Has the provider demonstrated that its services can handle the stressful rigors of a crisis?
2. Node technology? Your provider needs a federated system, not a centralized one. In this way, if a node in the network goes down, another node can pick up the traffic so that customers have the systems available to them in their crisis. This was the problem in Louisiana. When Bell South’s network was flooded, its limited audio conferencing capabilities were also flooded.
3. Call now Technology? Does the provider allow leaders with call now technology that gives them the ability to select names from their call list and “speed dial” all of them simultaneously from a mobile device? In a crisis, you often don’t have the time to schedule a conference call when people are dying and seconds are precious.
4. Emergency alerts with Audio Conference Trail? Does your carrier allow you to broadcast an alert with a live recorded message from you that gives recipients the option to join a follow-up conference call (trailer) so you can answer questions and provide more information?
5. Record and publish online? Does your provider let you record a conference call on the fly and then automatically post those recordings online, or let people bookmark to listen to them later? Disaster response is unpredictable. First responders can be called at any time to rescue a family from a roof or from the rubble of their collapsing building. When this happens, first responders are unable to call the evening conference call for status updates. Recorded calls allow them to dial in and listen to reports at their leisure, or listen to recordings online. This proved to be a crucial capability during Hurricane Katrina. These recordings also recall initiatives taken during the crisis for post-crisis review.
6. Expert support? Does your provider answer your questions competently and quickly on the first call, or do you pass on new people reading a canned script every time you call? Do your answers come from operators in distant countries? This type of assistance may be acceptable for certain types of aid, but not for disaster management when people’s lives are at stake. Ask if your vendor has experience supporting disaster management. If not, find a new provider.

Lessons from disasters dictate a new type of Web 2.0 conferencing capability that empowers mobile command centers with call now characteristics of mobile phones. Telephones have been the communication tool of choice in every major disaster in recent years. That is unlikely to change. To handle disasters and emergencies, these phone systems must be merged with data systems. That’s what Web 2.0 audio conferencing is all about.

For more information, please Google “Web 2.0 Audio Conferencing”.

Copyright © 2011. Leader Phone® and Michael McKibben. All rights reserved.