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networks is a key strategy in war, as recently demonstrated The damage was less than might be expected. A small
in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine where they temporarily number of telecommunications buildings were directly
disabled a satellite internet network to disrupt Ukrainian damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, 55 of a total
command and control operations (Reuters 2022). of 1,800, though half experienced commercial power
outages. The transmission network that connects network
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake provides a good facilities generally held up, though the tsunami swept away
example of the resilience of telecommunications networks: or damaged a significant portion of this infrastructure,
a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami with 40-metre-high primarily utility poles, which tend to be more vulnerable to
waves that, in one instance, disasters than underground
uprooted a two-floor cables. Approximately 100
concrete telecommunications of the tens of thousands of
exchange office and carried Telecommunications resilience was demonstrated cell sites in the region were
it 500 metres inland (NTT in NATO’s 1999 bombing of Belgrade, Serbia damaged, and the equipment
2011). The earthquake itself targeting communications facilities. Serbian that sits at the base of these
caused limited damage internet service providers were able to maintain sites was damaged in a larger
to telecommunications communications using a more decentralized number of cell sites—still
infrastructure, Japan being approach—satellite links, cellular networks, and a small portion of the total
possibly the most seismically- amateur radio. (Kwasinksi and Tang 2012).
prepared nation in the world.
The tsunami was the source Let’s turn to hurricanes and
of the greatest damage, tropical storms where high
largely because its magnitude winds, storm surges, and
wasn’t anticipated in mitigation efforts, a demonstration flooding can devastate communities and their infrastructure.
of the limits of planning. Even the most resilient In Hurricane Katrina (2005), a relatively small number
telecommunications network will struggle to withstand of telephone exchange offices and a larger number of
40-metre-high waves. cells sites failed; the transmission network suffered
the majority of damage as a result of massive flooding.

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