Earlier this week we took a look at a technological advancement that will help save lives before and during a missile attack using mobile phones. Further research has been done to apply a similar concept to help warn people prior to a natural disaster.

Scientists are always working on new ways to lessen the impact of natural disasters. Satellite technology is being used to help with disaster management, particularly in developing countries, where more than 95 per cent of all deaths are caused by natural disasters. Satellites collect accurate, frequent and virtually instantaneous date from all over the world and were used back in 2005 to track hurricane Katrina’s structure and strength. Similarly Telecom technology is being introduced worldwide to help warn and prepare people for disasters. In Bangladesh, mobile phone operators Grameenphone and Teletalk carried out trials to provide early warning signals to phone owners. Since then the country has signed an agreement with the operators to supply alerts to it’s 46 million subscribers in the event of a natural disaster.

Now, scientists are looking at combining mobile and satellite technology in a bid to effectively manage forest fires in South Africa. While some fires on the African continent are a natural and necessary part of the ecosystem, intense fires in the wrong place can easily get out of hand and pose a large threat to communities. Every year wildfires kill people and destroy property and grazing in South Africa. Electricity networks often suffer substantial damage as a result of these fires. With this in mind the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has developed the Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS), a system that combines satellite findings with mobile phone technology to provide early warnings about large fires to phone users, including fire-fighters, farmers and forest managers.

The AFIS was originally designed for Eskom – South Africa’s largest power company to help combat line faults caused by fires. It seemed a simple task to pass on the same technology to warn fire-fighting communities. The service is free and anyone can sign up to receive alerts within their area. This means farmer conservancies – self-organised groups that take on fire management responsibilities can prepare in advance for a fire heading their way.

There has been a lot of interest from other countries that suffer from wildfires and work is being done to set up the system in those areas. Scientists are now looking into the possibility of using the same techniques to detect and warn communities about other natural disasters.