Typhoon Ketsana, which made landfall in northern Luzon on September 26, triggered some of the heaviest rainfall and the worst flooding in the Philippines in 40 years. A few days later, a series of earthquakes occurred just off the southern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Both Southeast Asian countries suffered hundreds of deaths and injuries, displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and devastation to their infrastructure.
 
In both cases, Ericsson Response, a global initiative aimed at developing a better and faster response to human suffering caused by disaster, has sent volunteers to aid recovery.

Rima Qureshi, head of Ericsson Response, explains how the program works. “We’re partnered with the UN and other international agencies. When an appeal goes to the UN, it encompasses different needs, one of which is communications, which is where we’re involved in providing equipment and expertise as part of the Emergency Telecom Cluster.

“In the case of the Philippines, the government launched an international appeal on September 28. We’ve had four volunteers working there with our international partners to provide assistance by setting up telecommunication equipment in the affected areas. Ericsson Response’s objective is not a commercial one; it is to make sure that we provide support to our partners, according to our agreements.”

The situation was different in Indonesia, as it did not request international aid initially. “However, we were still in the country, observing the situation and informing our global partners,” Qureshi says.

Ericsson Response continued to monitor the situation so that even before the international appeal went out on October 2, 15 volunteers and all their equipment were ready to go in and provide aid when required.

“Now that Indonesia has asked for international aid, we’re ready to mobilize as required by the UN,” Qureshi says. “We have also sent two volunteers to Indonesia to keep track of the situation and to receive the other volunteers if they are needed.”

The Philippines is regularly hit by typhoons and tropical storms that gain strength over the warm waters of the Pacific before hitting the coast.

In the wake of Ketsana, another typhoon, Parma, hit the country, causing severe flooding and landslides in the north. To date, the government puts the combined death toll from the two storms and ensuing disease outbreaks at 947.

Yet another super-typhoon, Lupit, is fast approaching the Philippines and is expected to batter the northern part of the country later this week.

 
“We have local volunteers who are currently monitoring the situation,” Qureshi says. “Apart from the rescue and recovery efforts, some long-term improvements are needed.”

The death toll in Indonesia is still unclear. The UN puts the figure at 1,100 while the government says 603 have been killed and 960 are missing, presumed dead.

“In Indonesia we’re still on standby waiting to hear more from our partners. But we’re gearing up,” Qureshi says.

In the future Ericsson Response will continue to be involved in disaster situations where the company’s skills and expertise are in demand.

“If we are needed, we will always be there,” she says.