Inmarsat Mini-M Helps Hundreds of Typhoon Victims Make Calls
Aid agency completes its emergency operation in Philippines, which enabled families to make phone calls via Inmarsat in the wake of Typhoon Durian.
Inmarsat has helped more than 800 families make emergency phone calls from typhoon-hit Catanduanes Island in the Philippines.
In a relief operation that ended on 17 December, Inmarsat says it helped 833 families - approximately 3,500 people - make calls using four Inmarsat Mini M terminals.
Most of the families calling had their homes destroyed by Typhoon Durian, which hit the region on 1 December. Many needed urgently to phone abroad to ask for help and money.
First calls
"Most of these were the first calls that people had been able to make to family and friends since Typhoon Durian hit," said Inmarsat aid communications co-ordinator Oisin Walton.
The terminals were located at an emergency calling centre in Virac. A fifth Mini M, an R-BGAN and a BGAN provided support for aid workers and the local authorities.
Inmarsat says that 13 local and international organisations benefited from its Inmarsat connections, including the Red Cross, World Vision and Operation Blessing.
GSM networks were re-established in Catanduanes on 17 December, ending the emergency phase of Inmarsat's mission.
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January 2007
