Although we are at the end of the 2025 North Atlantic Hurricane Season, we are only six months away from the start of the 2026 hurricane season. Moreover, other hazards or disasters, such as fire, earthquake, or even a utility failure due to a cyberattack, can occur at any time. Fabian Lewis, a telecoms, emergency medicine and disaster management specialist from Saint Lucia, joins us to discuss how we as individuals, organisations and countries can improve our telecoms resilience and increase the chances that we will be able to remain connected when we need it most. Among other things, we discuss: what makes the Caribbean particularly vulnerable when it comes to telecoms and ICT disruptions during disasters; whether amateur radio is still important in a country’s disaster/emergency communications management effort; and common mistakes organisations make when preparing (or failing to prepare) their telecoms and ICT systems for disasters.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Rooted in its geography, climate, and socio-economic structures, the Caribbean region is the second most disaster-prone region in the world, behind the Asia-Pacific region. This high exposure to natural hazards makes the development of robust and resilient emergency telecoms not just a priority, but a matter of national survival and sustained development. Further, we must not forget that we are also vulnerable to manmade hazards and disasters, such as widespread and sustained electricity outages (blackouts), pandemics, and civil unrest, which again emphasise the importance of having more resilient telecoms.

Depending on the hazard or disaster, our ability to communicate or to stay connected might not be unduly affected. However, if telecoms networks are down for an extended period of time, we need to ensure that we can adapt to these exigent circumstances and remain connected during an emergency.

 

Introducing our guest

With nearly 30 years of experience, Fabian Lewis has straddled the fields of telecommunications, emergency medicine and disaster management. At the time of writing, he is Radio and Telecommunications Manager of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but was recently in Jamaica as part of a technical response team organised by the Caribbean Emergency and Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA) following Hurricane Melissa.

Originally from Saint Lucia, Fabian has worked in both the private and public sectors, where he has had numerous opportunities to develop his expertise. For example, in telecommunications and ICT, he has been a Public Utilities Officer for the Government of Saint Lucia, a Telecommunications Officer for the National Emergency Management Organisation, and a Technical Officer for the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. In the healthcare space, he was the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Manager and Emergency Medical Technician at St. Jude Hospital, and before that, he was a Research Officer for the Ministry of Health. Currently, he is the Programme Coordinator/Senior Instructor of L.I.F.E., a private venture that provides emergency response and training, based in Saint Lucia.

Fabian holds a master’s degree in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Governance and numerous technical and medical/disaster management/response certificates.

 

Insights into our conversation

Although a smartphone is an extremely powerful and sophisticated tool, it can become useless when the network to which it must connect is down. However, noting that so many of us are using mobile/cellular services almost exclusively to stay connected with the world, when our phone no longer functions, we essentially become very isolated and vulnerable.

What has happened, as Fabián reminds us, is that over time, we have abandoned older technologies and methods in favour of the newer and shinier devices. However, it does not have to be like that. Instead of disregarding the older and tried and true, they should remain in our arsenal to be drawn upon at a moment’s notice.

Below are questions that guided our conversation with Fabian.

  1. To start us off, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background and how you manage to straddle telecommunications and disaster management?
  2. From your perspective, what makes the Caribbean particularly vulnerable when it comes to telecoms and ICT disruptions during disasters?
  3. What would you say to persons who believe that amateur radio operators are no longer as important in a country’s disaster management or emergency communication management?
  4. Are emerging technologies like Starlink or other LEO satellite services changing the disaster-preparedness landscape in the Caribbean?
  5. Were there any surprising points of failure — or unexpected success stories — from recent hurricane seasons?
  6. What common mistakes do organisations make when preparing (or failing to prepare) their telecoms systems for disasters?
  7. What should Caribbean governments prioritise to improve national telecoms resilience?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or might otherwise be useful:

 

 

Image credits:  F Lewis;  Colin Lloyd (Unsplash);  sippakorn yamkasikorn (Pixabay);  Chandler Cruttenden (Unsplash)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell