Supporting Emergency-Response by Retasking Network Infrastructures
Michael LeMay, Carl A. Gunter · 2007
Recent events have demonstrated the susceptibility of conventional network infrastructures to both man-made and natural disasters. The attacks on September 11th, 2001 disrupted many communication channels that were routed through the World Trade Center, and the mass panic that ensued also caused the telephone switching network to collapse [2]. Even more significant disruptions to communication channels occurred when Hurricane Katrina rendered most of the infrastructure components within its wake partially or completely inoperable [4]. This caused great difficulties for both the victims of Katrina and those who were working to save them. Network connectivity is very important in the aftermath of a disaster, as it can be used by victims and rescuers to communicate among themselves, send messages out to unaffected areas, and receive critical information from external sources. In the rescue operation that followed Katrina, it would have been helpful to rescuers if victims had been able to communicate their locations to rescuers, rather than forcing them to search every house. Analysis of the Kobe earthquake also cited a lack of communication as a cause for delayed emergency-response actions and a mis-direction of resources to areas that had less urgent needs than other areas [14]. Thus, it is clear that resilient data networks could have provided great benefits in the aftermath of this disaster, and the many others like it that occur every year. After Katrina, the only significant, operational network in New Orleans was a Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) used to transport data from security cameras in the city [7]. City officials used this network to provide the services normally provided by other networks, such as voice messaging (VoIP) and general police communications. A number of other major cities are now planning to deploy dedicated mesh networks to improve the robustness of the information infrastructure used by government personnel. Independently, many commercial mesh networks are being deployed for various purposes. For example, traditional electric meters are being replaced with advanced meters that have computational capabilities and are often connected to the Meter Data Management Agency (MDMA) using mesh networking [11]. Buildings are also being enhanced with mesh networks for building automation [5]. Mesh networks are more resilient to node failures than other types of networks, which makes them a logical choice for such applications. However, like any other infrastructure improve-