Mobile phones are now as crucial as food and water in emergency aid

Foreign aid is streaming into the Philippines from around the world as the news of the devastation wrought Super Typhoon Haiyan spreads, but it’s no longer just food, water and shelter: Before the storm even made landfall, a team from non-profit Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) was on the ground, carrying satellite phones and laptop-sized BGans, which enable voice calls and Internet connections via satellite.

TSF set up in Tacloban, one of the areas in the storm’s path, on Nov. 7. After much of the region was flattened and telecommunications and electricity knocked out, the group started offering storm survivors free three-minute calls to loved ones -- and just as crucially, offered ways for search and rescue teams to communicate with each other. Just fifteen years ago, having a mobile phone connection would have been an unachievable luxury for those in the midst of a natural disaster. But the massive growth in mobile phone usage has radically changed the equation -- and usage has been growing the fastest in the countries that have been the biggest targets of humanitarian aid. Mobile communications are also improving the way that aid is delivered, allowing for better coordination of resources. Adding Twitter, Facebook and other social media has only accelerated that change, as could be seen in the massive Filipino diaspora, which took to social media to find friends and relatives after Typhoon Haiyan.