The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today announced that it has activated the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for Hurricane Florence, which is heading toward the southeastern coast of the United States.

The FCC asked that reports of outages and infrastructure status to the voluntary system be made at 10 a.m. beginning tomorrow and continuing every day thereafter until DIRS is deactivated.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement today, “As Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast, the FCC is working to prepare for the storm, coordinating with our federal and state partners and letting them know that we stand ready to work with them and assist in any way we can.  At this point, FCC staff have already been deployed to survey the radiofrequency spectrum across critical areas of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, and our Operations Center is open 24 hours a day.

“Our staff has also reached out to broadcast associations, wireless carriers, and other telecom companies in the areas expected to be hit by Hurricane Florence.  We will closely monitor communications outages data in the coming days and work to support restoration and recovery efforts.  We also urge residents of the affected areas to charge their wireless phones, laptops, or tablets, sign up to receive emergency alerts and warnings, and follow other communications tips available on the FCC’s website to stay connected with family and friends,” the Chairman added. —Lynn Stanton, lynn.stanton@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily