TSF deploys to Germany to aid rescue efforts for flood victims

20 Jul 2021

Inmarsat partner and emergency telecommunications NGO, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) has deployed to western Germany, following torrential rain causing the country’s worst flooding in half a century. 

With thousands of people forced to leave their homes, roads completely destroyed and entire towns devastated, rescue operations began immediately but were hindered by phone and internet connections going down in some affected areas. 

To ensure that communities could be contacted, and rescue needs ascertained and coordinated, TSF sent a specially designed vehicle to the most affected areas, offering telecom support to people on the ground, including relief organisations. The areas most in need were identified as the Ahrweiler’s district and the town of Euskirchen. 

Communications lifeline

Deploying Inmarsat satellite lines and six IsatPhone 2 handheld satellite phones in Ahrweiler, meant that local firefighters and emergency responders involved in the rescue missions, including the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), were able to regain communications.

"The IsatPhones provided to the firefighters and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief in Ahrweiler have been essential to support the coordination of their relief operations. In an area in which mobile networks have been down or unstable for several days, being able to count on reliable satellite lines has been of paramount importance to ensure an effective emergency response.” Sébastien Latouille, Head of Mission for TSF in Germany