The Lismore App news series 'Flood Readiness - Are We Better Prepared?' continues with Part 2 Communication today.

The series covers key organisations that play a vital role in pre-flood warnings and in the rescue & recovery after a major flood. We are asking those organisations to let us know how the 2022 floods and Flood Inquiry have changed their procedures and processes so people will experience better outcomes.

Communication was vital during the February 28 2022 big flood. People were searching for the latest updated information, calling loved ones to check on their welfare or calling 000 and the SES when stuck on the roof of their house.

Today is a continuation of Part 2 after updates from Telstra and Optus yesterday Flood Readiness: Are We Better Prepared? - Part 2 Communication .

TPG TELECOM (Vodafone)

TPG Telecom (Vodafone) were able to give us some firmer information on their operations in the region. The widespread unplanned power outages were the number one reason for telco service disruption. They report that 75% of their flood affected sites were restored to operation within 1 day. The remaining sites took up to two weeks as they could only be accessed once rescue and emergency services deemed it safe to do so.

A TPG Telecom spokesperson spoke of the importance of communication: “Mobile and broadband communications are a digital lifeline in times of natural disasters, allowing people and communities to reach emergency services, access government services, conduct business, and connect with family and friends.

“While our networks are built to be as resilient as possible, natural disasters often cause power outages which can then affect nearby communication networks. When power outages occur, it is critical people have a plan to stay connected.

“TPG Telecom is committed to helping customers and communities stay connected during natural disasters. TPG Telecom has at its disposal a range of emergency connectivity and power back-up solutions it can quickly mobilise to help restore mobile services as fast as possible. These include battery backups and diesel generators to keep towers operational until standby technicians can restore power to affected sites.

“The telco also has a fleet of portable mobile base stations known as Cells On Wheels (COWs) that can provide emergency coverage to areas experiencing power outages. TPG recently procured new COWS and Calfs (small COWS) as part of its involvement in the Federal Government’s STAND program (Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters). 

“We have also refurbished and modernised existing COWS and generators, making them fit for purpose in supporting our modern 5G network infrastructure. These COW/CALF assets feature rapid, and longer-term deployment. They are positioned around the country and stored in a state of deployment readiness.”

In preparation for future weather events, TPG Telecom are looking at pre-deployment of equipment in critical hub sites or nearby key locations, anticipating major outages or access track challenges due to emergency events. It aims for the pre-arrangement of access from property owner/Council to access the TPG site located inside their premises. This saves time to arrange access during emergency events.

Earlier this month, TPG Telecom and the University of Technology, Sydney, (UTS) announced they have opened the doors to the new Network Sensing Lab in Sydney, where they are developing an advanced sensing technology based on 5G mobile networks. It could soon help protect homes, businesses and communities from major flooding disasters. It is currently being trialled by NSW State Emergency Service (SES). 

The prototype extracts precise weather details, such as rainfall, water levels, and river flows, by detecting minuscule environmental changes in wireless signals transmitted through 5G mobile networks. By combining these signature changes with AI and the NSW Spatial Digital Twin (SDT), the researchers created a 4D visualisation, showing in real-time how rainfall and potential flooding evolve and affect communities and critical infrastructure like roads and transport.  

One problem is this technology is only available wherever there is 5G coverage. However, it is not reliant upon the deployment of traditional sensor devices that caused so many false or non-readings in 2022.

In the event of a flood, bushfire or other power outage, TPG Telecom recommends you:

1. Power up: Make sure your mobile devices and portable battery packs are fully charged so you can access information and call emergency services. Consider purchasing a generator in remote areas for long-lasting backup power. 

2. Listen up: Stay alert to updates and news for your affected area. Local radio is a great source of information and the ABC, as a national disaster broadcaster. Battery powered radios can provide access to critical information in the event of power outages.

3. Back up: Upload important documents and personal records - including identification, insurance and financial records – in the cloud, on an external hard drive, or print them and keep them with you.

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NBN

Our National Broadband Network is used by many communications companies, but it is responsible for keeping access open for everyone. NBN is slightly different to the other brands in our communication segment, but important to include, as this was a way that people were possibly able to keep lines of communication open.



We sought to understand what aspects of the nbn were affected in the 2022 floods.

“Most outages were as a result of power mains failures on dependent sites, however damage to the nbn network infrastructure was sustained across pockets of Southeast QLD and Northern NSW as a direct result of flood inundation. This included above ground infrastructure such as Fibre-to-the-Node cabinets located on streets, Fibre-to-the-Basement cabinets and underground infrastructure such as cabling, joints, ducts and distribution point units.

“In Lismore, a number of distribution point units feeding properties required replacement and new equipment had to be installed in a number of damaged cabinets located in streets and buildings.

“The majority of outages following the flooding were restored by 21 November 2022.”

 What was involved to get it back online?

“Restoration efforts were complex during this period and required strong coordination as a result of the health and safety concerns faced around field hazards such as flooding, landslips and hazardous debris which prevented access to sites.

“This was coordinated by an Emergency Management Team who worked with a large field workforce in both affected states to coordinate materials, specialised equipment, generators and skilled personnel to carefully plan restoration priorities by areas where access was not constrained by flood waters.

“Nbn collaborated with a number of agencies, organisations and partners to stage materials, maintain situational awareness, identify community needs and provide support to our field workforce.”

Nbn maintains its own emergency response plans and procedures to prepare for, respond and recover the network “as safely and quickly as possible during disasters”.

“We work closely with state emergency service organisations and agencies within state and territory emergency management arrangements such as the TEMU within the NSW Telecommunications Services Functional Area who provide ongoing support to us during emergencies.

“In addition, nbn provides a liaison officer function to provide information and advice on the impacts of emergency events as part of these arrangements.”

 How will the customer experience be different in the next flood event?

“Nbn has undertaken a review of the February-March 2022 East Coast floods having identified a number of opportunities to uplift its Field Coordination strategies to provide support during multi-jurisdictional protracted events to ensure a sustainable operational model is in place to enable nbn's commitment to providing telecommunications services to businesses, community members and emergency services.

“This has included the permanent the provision of an additional disaster recovery warehouse in Southeast QLD which will provide field support to Northern River communities in the event of another major disaster.

“As part of our infrastructure repairs three FTTN cabinets in Forbes had to be replaced. We have also completely rebuilt the Gooloogong fixed wireless tower raising it to increase its resilience to future flooding.”

Other stories in this series includes:

Essential Energy 

Communications - Telstra and Optus