With Hurricane Idalia expected to make landfall in Florida tomorrow, Verizon said its team is working to ensure its people and assets are ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice to assist with rapid recovery efforts of critical communications infrastructure. With the expectation of significant damage from strong winds and flooding from the storm, Verizon’s network team said it is preparing for the worst. While the use of battery and generator backup systems in critical locations such as cell sites and network operations centers serve to minimize the risk of disruption if commercial power is lost, even the most hardened infrastructure can be shaken by Mother Nature.
In case emergency network recovery becomes necessary after Hurricane Idalia makes landfall, Verizon said it is prepared to respond quickly by preparing its fleet of portable assets, including fully functional, generator-powered cell sites that can replace or enhance network coverage and capacity in a given area as well as drones and a fixed wing aircraft that can provide service and situational awareness from the sky above.
Additionally, Verizon has pre-staged satellite-based portable network assets that can provide an alternate way to connect cell sites to the rest of the network in the event that a fiber cable is lost due to commercial power outages or physical damage. All of these mobile assets are complemented by portable generators and a comprehensive refueling program ready to keep the network running in case of commercial power outages, according to the carrier.
FEMA announced yesterday that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Florida to supplement state, Tribal and local response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Idalia beginning last Sunday.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the effects of the emergency. Emergency protective measures limited to direct federal assistance, under the public assistance program will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.
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