Cisco Crisis Response: Reinstating Connectivity to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene

Often in natural disasters, critical infrastructure can become severely compromised which affects our ability to communicate and take on essential tasks. This disruption affects our capacity to text loved ones to let them know we’re safe, call 911 for emergency assistance, and enable first responders to receive calls and dispatch resources. It also hinders emergency management agencies from coordinating and managing response activities and impedes hospitals from accessing electronic medical records, ordering medicine, and filling prescriptions.  

As a leader in connectivity solutions, Cisco saw the opportunity to bridge the gap through the creation of the Cisco Crisis Response (CCR) team, initially for government support, and expanding to disaster response after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Since then, the team has responded to over 100 incidents across disasters and humanitarian efforts in 38 countries, providing secure connectivity for emergency response agencies and aid organizations to carry out life-saving activities after a crisis. Rooted in Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all, Cisco Crisis Response leverages our people, financial resources, technology and strategic partnerships to securely connect and empower crisis-affected communities around the world.  

“Cisco has been a great friend of World Central Kitchen and cared for us, with donations but also because members of Cisco show up. We have to keep talking about how technology can help organizations like ours to have a better and quicker response, and more technology is key.” – Chef Jose Andres, Founder of World Central Kitchen 

CCR Mobilizing for Hurricane Helene 

Recently, our CCR team has been hard at work responding to Hurricane Helene. Its devastating impact was felt by Americans across the southeast, particularly in areas of western North Carolina. Communities hit especially hard found themselves cut off from the rest of the country as they struggled to access power, water, cellular coverage and the Internet. Working with emergency response organizations, Cisco’s Crisis Response team (CCR) quickly mobilized to help mitigate some of the difficulties these communities faced on the road to recovery.   

Since the initial impact, 9 CCR staff members and 19 employee volunteers supported response efforts in western North Carolina and elsewhere in the affected region. This effort consisted of: 

• Dispatching and installing emergency networking kits (often paired with CCR’s low earth orbit satellite terminals) to provide secure connectivity to 11 response organizations, ranging from state emergency management agencies, hospitals and health clinics, police and fire departments, aircraft operations, and local nonprofit centers coordinating volunteers.  
• Continuing to support multiple networks remotely, providing virtual support as needed to the organizations on the ground. A team of CCR volunteers who are security specialists have formed a virtual Security Operations Center to continue monitoring all deployed networks.  

The importance of trusted, strategic partnerships cannot be understated when it comes to disaster response. These relationships are often cultivated during ‘blue sky days’, when there is opportunity to explore and define respective roles, technology solutions and complementary offerings. The North Carolina Emergency Management Agency (NCEM) has been a close CCR partner since 2008; in addition to deployments over the years, the team regularly participates in NCEM’s annual communications school, simulation and table-top exercises. As a result, CCR was in touch with NCEM well before Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and was able to deploy to support their response efforts within hours of their request. 

Beyond Connectivity: Cisco’s Culture of Giving Back 

CCR’s dedicated staff is accompanied by over 800 Cisco employee volunteers that are signed up and trained to support. We see these employees as extensions of the team – “force multipliers”. We’re proud to have employees and CCR volunteers who care and step up to these challenges. In our Hurricane Helene response, CCR volunteers deployed to support response organizations and install networks, provided back-office and logistics support at Cisco’s RTP site, and served as couriers to bring equipment back and forth between the Cisco office and affected areas. In a two-week period, CCR volunteers contributed over 550 hours of their time and logged over 7000 miles while delivering critically needed equipment or services. 

Additionally, CCR launched a Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief campaign, to support the response efforts of the American Red Cross, Americares and World Central Kitchen. In about a month from the end of September until now, over $800,000 have been raised in donations from Cisco, Cisco Foundation, and their employees. Specifically, $359,000 has been raised in employee donations and Cisco matches, and $460,000 have been donated in cash grants from Cisco and Cisco Foundation to non-profit partners including the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon, Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), and the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. 

Cisco stands with those impacted by the recent hurricanes, and remains committed to providing support, resources and solutions to help affected communities recover and rebuild.

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