The FCC established the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) on September 11, 2007, in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system through which the Commission collects operational status and restoration information from communications providers during major disasters and subsequent recovery efforts. DIRS provides communications providers with a single, coordinated, consistent process to report their communications infrastructure status information during disasters. DIRS collects infrastructure status information from wireline, wireless, broadcast, cable, interconnected VoIP, and broadband service providers. DIRS reporting is mandatory for all Stage 2 recipients of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund.
During times of crisis, DIRS enables communications providers to quickly report service degradations and request assistance. In turn, the FCC compiles the data and provides network status information to federal emergency management officials as well as publishes public reports of aggregated restoration information. The FCC’s analysis informs restoration efforts by federal partners and the agency’s own assessments of communications reliability during disasters. The infrastructure status information reported in DIRS is presumed confidential.
DIRS activations typically precede an anticipated major emergency, like a major hurricane, or follow an unpredictable disaster. The FCC announces DIRS activations through public notices and emails to DIRS participants. The announcements list the counties covered in the activation and provide reporting and contact information. These announcements will also note whether the FCC will suspend its rules on network outage reporting for DIRS participants during the DIRS activation period.
In recent years, DIRS was activated for events including Hurricane Matthew in 2016; Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate in 2017; Hurricanes Lane, Florence, and Michael in 2018; Hurricanes Barry and Dorian in 2019; Tropical Storms Isaias, Marco, and Laura as well as Hurricanes Sally, Delta, and Zeta in 2020; Tropical Storm Henri, Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas, and tornadoes in Kentucky in 2021; Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, New Mexico wildfires, a winter storm and a power outage in Puerto Rico in 2022; and Super Typhoon Mawar, Hawaii wildfires, Tropical Storm Hilary, and Hurricane Idalia in 2023. In addition, DIRS was activated in response to power shutoffs in California in 2019 and for earthquakes and a derecho in 2020. When DIRS is activated, the FCC typically publishes daily communications status reports online.
Access DIRS
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*This system is for communications providers only
Resources
- See DIRS Activations
- Disaster Support For Broadcasters
- 2021 Order on Communications Outage Information Sharing
For questions about DIRS, contact:
Michael Caiafa
Email: michael.caiafa@fcc.gov
Phone: 202-418-1311
Gerald (Jay) English
Email: gerald.english@fcc.gov
Phone: 202-418-0432