SIA Report Stresses Importance of Satellites During National Disasters
Encourages Policymakers and Emergency Planners to Strongly Consider the Resilience of Satellite Services
With the Atlantic hurricane season beginning in less than six weeks, the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) is encouraging policy and lawmakers to continue considering the vital role satellites play in providing communications and other important services before, during and after a natural disaster. The Association summarized the various services satellites can provide both before and after an emergency, plus recent industry disaster response initiatives in its newly updated SIA Report titled, “Natural Disasters – Satellites to the Rescue”.
“With hurricane season beginning in less than 2 months and dangerous wildfires now impacting parts of the U.S. throughout the year, we remind government planners, relief agencies, private enterprise and even consumers to consider the unparalleled level of reliability and ubiquity of satellite services when planning for natural disasters.”
Tom Stroup, SIA
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs for six months beginning on June 1st. Preliminary forecasts project a slightly above average number of named cyclones for 2025. In 2024, hurricanes such as Helene and Milton caused casualties, widespread damage and devastation to parts of the Carolinas, the U.S. gulf coast and Georgia. Earlier this year, wildfires including the Palisades and Eaton fires in LA County killed more than 30 persons while burning an estimated 16,000 homes and buildings.
“With hurricane season beginning in less than 2 months and dangerous wildfires now impacting parts of the U.S. throughout the year, we remind government planners, relief agencies, private enterprise and even consumers to consider the unparalleled level of reliability and ubiquity of satellite services when planning for natural disasters,” said Tom Stroup, president of the Satellite Industry Association. “Satellites have been providing emergency communications and remote sensing data for decades, and now thanks to recent leaps in innovation, advanced multi-spectral imaging and direct to device emergency communications services are now available, providing even more critical services before, during and after a disaster.”
Satellite networks operate far above the Earth’s surface; therefore, they are not vulnerable to damage by storms or other natural disaster emergencies such as wildfires which could damage or impair terrestrial mobile services. Communication and Earth observation satellites provide a wide variety of services including telephony, data connectivity, emergency messaging and advanced Earth observation imaging for improved cyclone and wildfire forecasting and monitoring, even in darkness or under tree canopies and cloud cover, plus the ability to track critical emergency assets and assess post-disaster damage.