Five Key Enablers for Communication during and after Disasters

Civilian communication during disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and military conflicts is crucial for saving lives. Nevertheless, several challenges exist during these circumstances such as the destruction of cellular communication and electricity infrastructure, lack of line of sight (LoS), and difficulty of localization under the rubble. In this article, we discuss key enablers that can boost communication during disasters, namely, satellite and aerial platforms, redundancy, silencing, and sustainable networks aided with wireless energy transfer (WET). The article also highlights how these solutions can be implemented in order to solve the failure of communication during disasters. Finally, it sheds light on unresolved challenges, as well as future research directions.