Missions

During the nine months following the uprising in Libya, TSF remained on the ground providing emergency calls and connections to civilians fleeing the fighting and to NGOs working alongside them.

After the violent earthquake in eastern Turkey on October 23, 2012, a team from TSF intervened in less than 24 hours. In order to assess the telecommunication needs of the humanitarian community and the population, the team coordinated with the crisis centre in Van, then joined Erciş, the most devastated city.

In the autumn of 2011, the western coast of El Salvador experienced torrential rains. The departments of Ahuachapan and Usulutan were invaded by large-scale floods. TSF supported the Civil Protection with a system for data collection and emergency communication.

The northern suburbs of Bangkok are under water. TSF evacuated its regional base and set up telephony operations in neighborhoods where the network had been affected.

Between August 2010 and February 2011, TSF trained 102 staff members from organisations and humanitarian agencies in Asia and Central and Latin America to improve effective use of telecommunications service in emergency situations.

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.

At the request of the Colombian government, a TSF team assisted the various actors in the crisis unit, including UNDAC, to help the populations by the flood at the end of December 2010. Technical support was provided in the affected areas including Atlantico and Baranquilla.

TSF strengthens the coordination of national and international relief efforts in the remote Mentawai islands following an earthquake-induced tsunami.

The heavy rains in the autumn of 2010 caused major floods in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia. A TSF team deployed to the Hat Yai province, where water levels had reached 3m, to assess the state of communications networks. TSF supported relief efforts as well as the local population.

Severe floods in July 2010 killed more than 1,500 people. TSF supported survivors who found themselves in utter destitution by offering free calls in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. In addition, TSF telecom specialists provided communications facilities to UNDAC and OCHA teams in Punjab and Islamabad.

June 2010: The situation is tense in the city of Osh, where clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have killed more than 2,000 people. 400,000 people are fleeing the violence, and the city's humanitarian and security situation is worrying. A TSF team deploys to the heart of the conflict to connect the humanitarian organisations present on site.

TSF trained 16 members of the national Chilean organizations ONEMI and SUBTEL on emergency telecommunications.