Missions

On 11 March 2011 an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami in North-East Japan, with 10-metre waves ravaging the coastal areas and causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, with the explosion of the reactor of the Fukushima power station. The destruction of infrastructure, the shortage of fuel, and many power cuts to the capital make the situation extremely complex. TSF deployed from its base in Bangkok to provide its emergency communications facilities. The mission drew to a close due to the high risk of the nuclear alert.

The April 2009 earthquake in Italy left 260 people dead and more than a thousand wounded. The onsite TSF team provided emergency satellite lines to the civil protection coordination centres.

In Chad, TSF set up a telecommunications centre in the region bordering Sudan. The purpose of this mission was to assist refugees from Darfur who had crossed the border, and to logistically and technically assist NGOs in the field to coordinate their response during this critical period of rainfall.

Torrential rains fell on the Aosta Valley, the TSF team, equipped with 16 satellite telephone lines, arrived at the Emergency Command Centre 14 hours after the official announcement of the request for international assistance. First NGO present in the field, the team assesses the damages.