[EAS] Joplin

[Alex Hartman]

Another point of interest is how the local cell network is comprised.

A lot of smaller towns use simple Wifi backhauls to a point on the
ground where the cell company already pays for landline space (T1's
and such) Simple debris can knock out that line to the tower,
rendering it useless. Or the incoming winds can misalign the antennas,
etc. People seem to think the cell network is rugged, when in fact
it's not. I've seen mobile cell sites installed at fairgrounds to
handle extra traffic, and while they have good signal to the tower
from the user, they usually have piss poor comms back to the "real
world", especially when they're overloaded.

Also remember, cell sites are required to have battery backup or
generators since they're used for e911 services. (and GPS for multiple
uses) If the GPS can't see the sky (as such in a bad weather
situation) the timing of the radios gets out of whack and all you get
is an "all circuits busy" signal, or fast busy ring.

People put far too much faith in the cell network to be really safe,
which is why there's many many failsafes. The EAS relay system is not
susceptible to these types of things generally, but an EF5 tornado, as
Joplin is proof, not much can withstand it. Broadcasters are 95%
prepared for stuff like this, backup towers/transmitters, redundant
power, etc. Tin can and a string if need be. The cell company might
have a presence in the town, but not very likely to have spare
equipment on hand, or engineers to put it back on in a moments notice.

Keep in mind that the same things that can cripple the cell network
can also cripple the internet feeds. Thus the redundancy factor.

--
Alex Hartman

On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 9:09 PM, Alan Kline <broadcast at snugglebunny.us> wrote:
> Yes, the Internet and cell phones would have been working before the
> first tornado event. But, it's not uncommon for several such storms to
> hit the same area in a short time. In Joplin, rescue efforts were
> hindered by adverse weather, which could easily have become tornadic
> again. What then? There's no electricity, Internet, or cell service in
> Joplin right now. Broadcast EAS would be the only way to warn that
> community of another such event. Joplin proves the case for redundant
> paths for EAS/CAP traffic.
>
> Obviously, broadcast radio and TV will be important to that community in
> the days to come. But that isn't important to the money changers in DC,
> who want to put broadcast TV out of business and don't care a rat's
> behind about radio... </rant>
>
> Alan
>
> On 5/23/2011 8:48 PM, Lowell Kiesow wrote:
>> The question is>when<  the Internet/cell phones went
>> down.  Obviously, they would have failed during the tornado, after
>> warning is too late.  Those systems would have been functioning in
>> advance of the storm when the warning message has value.  Most EAS
>> alerts are going to be sent in advance of a hazard, not following
>> it.  If a tornado were to hit my community, I don't need EAS to tell
>> me what happened after the fact because I can look and see for
>> myself.  What I do need is for it to warn me in advance.  In the
>> aftermath of an event, normal press channels can and should work
>> better than EAS.
>
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