Force Against the Storm
Microsoft teams up with ITDRC’s Tech Task Force to aid Communities in Crisis
Hurricane Michael rips through Florida
“God help us” can be read on spray painted signs that pepper the gray path of Highway 98, a road now cracked and buckled, that stretches through Florida. “Don’t forget us” and “No fuel for next 72 miles” pleas that stand tall among the miles of pine stumps that just days ago stood 150 feet, now shaded by five word testimonials picketed in mud. The news does move quickly, cameras follow the storm and after the damage has been recorded, another state is left.
“Don’t forget us.”
Hurricane Michael, the third most intense Atlantic hurricane in terms of pressure made landfall on October 10, 2018 at 2 p.m. EDT. Hurricane Michael started it’s path of destruction in the Florida panhandle with winds of 155 mph and a central pressure of 919 mb. An intensity that mirrored Hurricane Maria, a storm with the power of 175 mph winds and 920 mb, that devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.
Hurricane Michael’s damage stretched across 4 states leaving North Carolina’s rivers flooded and 530,000 citizens without electricity. Georgia’s agriculture took a 23.3 billion hit due to losses sustained in the storm. Overall, Hurricane Michael caused 5.5 billion in damage and claimed 47 lives.
With the storms past, many residents live in damaged houses, out of cars and some are only left with tents as they try to begin again. Any survivor will tell you, during the storm and after the storm, it’s not their belongings they think about, they are focused on their loved ones. Information Technology Disaster Resource Center helps survivors get connected and in touch with loved ones, sometimes for the first time since the storm.
Every survivor shares something in common, an endless amount of paper work so they may receive aid or insurance, and the need to speak to the ones they hold dear. Communication is aid.
Beginning Again
When ITDRC enters a disaster zone, their priority is to help as much and as many as possible. ITDRC arrived in Georgia on October 12, 2018 responding to their first request for support from the town of Albany. After the initial request was received, they just kept coming, from towns along a 200 mile stretch to the Gulf of Mexico.
There is a structure to the chaos in a disaster zone, ITDRC focuses first on life safety efforts, that means providing assistance to police, fire, and emergency management. From there they focus on supporting “mass care” efforts, including evacuation shelters and medical facilities. Short-term Community Recovery and Long Term Recovery are also areas of focus for the nonprofit, providing technical resources to manage volunteers, donations, and rebuilding efforts. No nonprofit can connect communities, service entire states, and fund equipment without the help of others.
ITDRC isn’t just there for the initial response, they are apart of the full community recovery cycle. Equipment often stays deployed for a year or more — until the site is no longer in need.
ITDRC and Microsoft Team Up for the Greater Good
After a 2017 FEMA phone conference, Information Technology Disaster Resource Center and Microsoft established a working relationship which has since blossomed into a significant partnership. Soon after, Microsoft mobilized employee volunteers alongside ITDRC during Hurricane Michael.
Seeing the success of the mobilized volunteers and equipment, Microsoft chose to deepen their relationship with ITDRC and increase their impact for domestic disaster responses. “Microsoft has a long history of empowering organizations to support those in need, and with ITDRC, we are supporting a trusted, dedicated organization which brings technological assistance to communities in need,” said Jane Meseck, Senior Director for Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact team.
Following Hurricane Michael, Microsoft again supported ITDRC’s efforts while responding to the Camp Fire in Northern California, by providing hardware and software to enable schools to resume in a limited capacity, and help relief nonprofits serve disaster survivors. Microsoft’s commitment to community recovery and support of the ITDRC mission resulted in the donation of 1,500 systems and licensing in 2019 that has already helped more than a dozen communities in recovery, and has the potential to help hundreds more.
Microsoft Volunteers Take Action in Recovery
A partnership with Microsoft brings much more than equipment, it provides the organization with skilled technical volunteers. The hardware donation by Microsoft Philanthropies has more than doubled ITDRC’s capacity to help communities in crisis, but the time and skills of employee volunteers like Nate Bahta and Chris Conte have made the partnership even more effective.
Microsoft runs an in-house disaster program that allows their employees to deploy to disaster zones and use their tech skills for good. When Bahta, a technical account manager and Conte, a senior consultant for Microsoft, received the first all hands on deck email, they knew they were all in and it was the beginning of something they would be apart of for a long time.
“I care about people, and there were people suffering,” said Conte, “Internet is a big deal, especially for people trying to fill out FEMA applications and to go from nothing to being able to communicate and make a simple phone call, that’s life saving.”
Hurricane Michael was Conte’s first deployment under the umbrella of ITDRC. He quickly put his tech skills to work, installing computers, helping wire phones, and connecting Internet. Bahta and Conte helped establish 69 sites in Florida, including evacuation shelters in schools and churches, municipal buildings, and medical facilities.
Never seeing mass devastation before, Conte was initially overwhelmed. But in disaster zones, when everything is gone, what’s left is the response. “The impact you can make just spending a little bit of your time, I was encouraged by the response.”
Military veteran, Bahta, was ready for deployment. Conte and Bahta worked together to set up a connection spot trailer to help survivors of the storm register for FEMA assistance, the team also deployed laptops to reach those who did not have transportation to the connection trailer. Bahta was there to solve problems quickly and was determined to help ITDRC in their effort. “It wasn’t about our companies at all, but what we can do together.”
At the end of a long day, the pair of volunteers would stop along their 90 minute drive back to the base of operations, helping anyone they came in contact with. While fueling up the truck, they helped a gas station attendant with a SIM card. “I show my daughter how I helped in disasters and she said ‘dad, so you’re a super hero?’ after that I knew I had to stay involved and wondered how many opportunities I missed in the past.”
Unity of Purpose
Since teaming up with the nonprofit, Microsoft and the employees who have deployed continue to work on engagement. “I was blown away by ITDRC and this experience changed the trajectory of what I was doing inside Microsoft, that experience got me more excited to help” said Conte, who now helps to recruit volunteers within the company.
Dedicated to engaging more employee volunteers, Microsoft and ITDRC are working to train and prepare employees for future disasters, wherever they may be needed. “These kinds of things, disasters, they’re happening all the time and there are ways you can get involved, there’s a place for you to help no matter who you are and ITDRC is out there helping everyday.”
