The FCC’s first Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) report for Hurricane Helene showed few of the total cell sites in the affected area were out of service yesterday morning, before the Hurricane made landfall. The fast-moving Category 3 storm was advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Thursday. It was expected to be a Category 4 Hurricane when it made landfall on Florida’s northwestern coast on Thursday evening with 15-20 foot storm surges along its path, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm threatened damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., forecasters said, according to the Associated Press. Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states. As of 3 p.m. ET, over 100,000 customers were without power in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
The FCC included 61 Florida counties in the DIRS area and 159 counties in Georgia. Also included in the DIRS reporting area are 21 counties in North Carolina and 11 in South Carolina.
In Florida, 13,683 cell sites are in the counties impacted by Helene. Of those, 25, or 0.2 percent) were out of service on Thursday morning, according to DIRS. Most of the outages were due to data transport issues. An additional 21 sites were operating on back-up power.
In Georgia, 13,091 cell sites are in the area affected by Helene. Of those, 14 were not operational on Thursday morning, according to DIRS. Most of the outages were due to data transport issues and an additional five sites were on back-up power.
In North Carolina, 1,287 cell sites are in the DIRS area for Hurricane Helene. Of those, five were not working yesterday morning and an additional five were on back-up power.
In South Carolina, 2,549 sites are in Helene’s path. Of those, six weren’t working yesterday morning.
Cable and wireline companies reported 7,278 subscribers out of service in the disaster area. This includes the loss of telephone, television, and/or internet services. No 911 call centers were impacted so far, according to the DIRS report. The same was true for broadcast television and radio stations.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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