Tsunami SMS

Asian Tsunami
December 2004

After the tsunami ravaged parts of Indonesia and other Asian countries on Dec. 26, 2004, IBM helped implement Sahana software to support relief operations. Télécoms Sans Frontéres set up satellite communications for relief workers. Satellite phone provider Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications distributed handsets. When other forms of communication failed, survivors discovered they could still send text messages.

In Southern Sri Lanka, 12-year-old Fathma Nusrat, pictured here, stands amid rubble as her father, Rilwan, drinks a coconut on Jan. 13, 2005.