PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
445 12th St., S.W.
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D.C. 20554
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
:
DA 12-1410
Released: August 28, 2012
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
Cecilia Sulhoff: (202) 418-0587
Email:
Cecilia.Sulhoff@fcc.gov
THE FCC’S PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCES
THE ACTIVATION OF THE DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING SYSTEM
(DIRS) IN RESPONSE TO HURRICANE ISAAC
Washington, DC – The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the
Federal Communications Commission (Commission) has announced the activation of the
Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Isaac in the Alabama
counties of Baldwin and Mobile; the Florida counties of Escambia and Santa Rosa; the Louisiana
parishes of Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East
Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines,
Pointe Coupee, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, St John the Baptist,
Saint Landry, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington,
West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana; and the Mississippi counties of Adams, Amite, Franklin,
Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lincoln, Pearl River, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson.
PSHSB will closely monitor the storm’s progress and may extend DIRS activation to
additional counties as needed in the coming days. DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, web-based
system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, broadband and
Voice over Internet Protocol providers can use to report communications infrastructure status
and situational awareness information during times of crisis.1
The Commission requests that communications providers expeditiously submit and
update information through DIRS regarding,
inter alia, the status of their communications
equipment, restoration efforts, power (
i.e., whether they are using commercial power, generator
1 On July 21, 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the DIRS information collection under
OMB Control Number 3060-1003. This OMB approval expires on June 30, 2013. On June 8, 2012, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the expansion of DIRS information collection to broadband and Voice
over Internet Protocol under OMB Control Number 3060-1003.
or battery), and access to fuel, if they provide service in any areas listed above.2 Communications
providers can accomplish this by accessing DIRS at
https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/ or under
e-filing on the Commission’s main webpage or PSHSB webpage. Providers that have not
previously done so will be asked to first provide contact information and obtain a User ID when
they access DIRS.3
Communications providers that serve areas in any of the counties or parishes listed above
and that have already provided contact information in DIRS will be sent an e-mail requesting
that they provide the above-referenced status information through DIRS. We encourage all
communications providers that have not already logged onto DIRS to input their contact
information, do so as soon as possible.
For further information, please contact any of the following personnel from PSHSB’s
Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division:
Jeffery Goldthorp (202) 418-1096 (office), (202) 253-1595 (cell),
jeffery.goldthorp@fcc.gov John Healy (215) 847-8094 (cell),
john.healy@fcc.gov Julia Tu (202) 321-4399 (cell),
julia.tu@fcc.gov Michael Caiafa (202) 418-1311 (office), (202) 277-5690 (cell),
michael.caiafa@fcc.gov Jane Kelly (202) 418-2832 (office), (202) 503-0398 (cell),
jane.kelly@fcc.gov David Ahn, (202) 418-0853 (office), (571) 232-8487 (cell)david.ahn@fcc.gov
- FCC -
2 Because the information that communications companies input to DIRS is sensitive, for national security and/or
commercial reasons, DIRS filings shall be treated as presumptively confidential upon filing.
See The FCC’s Public
Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Launches the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS),
Public Notice,
DA 07-3871, 22 FCC Rcd 16757 (2007). To improve the utility of DIRS and facilitate Federal restoration efforts,
the Commission will disseminate DIRS information to other Federal agencies that are authorized participants on the
Emergency Support Function-2 (ESF-2) team.
3 The Commission requests that communications providers (wireline carriers, wireless carriers, broadcasters, and
cable system operators) that choose to participate in DIRS provide contact information for any and all individuals in
each company who would be providing information on the status of communications equipment in the event of a
disaster. Contact information includes contact name, company name, phone number, cell phone number,
Blackberry/pager number, and e-mail address. This information will be secured by the Commission and protected
from public release.
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