In a crisis, a live signal is a lifeline

When floods, earthquakes, and other disasters strike, the ability to communicate is one of the first casualties.

Power systems fail. Networks go dark. Families can’t reach one another. Rescue teams struggle to coordinate.

In those moments, restoring connectivity is about more than technology.

Around the world, Huawei teams have joined telecom operators and emergency crews to bring damaged communications systems back online. They work under some of the toughest conditions imaginable: through the night, with limited electricity, and in areas still affected by aftershocks or severe weather.

In addition to responding to emergencies and natural disasters, Huawei teams also help operators maintain reliable connectivity during large-scale public events. In 2025, Huawei provided communications support across more than 300 emergencies, events, and other major incidents.

Restoring communication under pressure

Mohammed Said Elkabeer, a Maintenance Manager with Huawei Mediterranean South, described the moment he learned of the severe flooding that caused communications blackouts in Libya in September 2023.

“Someone needed to go,” he says. “I called my wife and told her, ‘I will go right now.’”

When Elkabeer arrived in Derna, a port city on the Mediterranean coast, the power was down. He and his colleagues used the interior lights of a car as their only source of illumination.

A global emergency response

The same pattern has repeated itself in disaster zones around the world. Huawei staff climb damaged sites, transport supplies, test transmissions, and reconnect communities as quickly as possible.

After a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye in February 2023, more than 3,000 mobile communications sites were damaged or destroyed. Huawei worked with local operators to restore more than 1,900 sites within 72 hours, bringing back 94% of network coverage within 4 weeks.

In Jamaica, after a Category 5 storm caused severe damage in January 2025, Huawei and local partners helped restore 300 communications sites.

When Typhoon Yagi struck Hainan, China, in September 2024, damaging more than one-third of the island’s cellular base stations, Huawei dispatched 300 engineers to restore more than 6,000 sites.

In the Czech Republic, during a severe snowstorm in January 2019 that left thousands of households without power and mobile network coverage, Huawei staff repaired communications sites amid extreme cold weather to maintain network services.

And in Sri Lanka, after severe flooding caused by a cyclone in November 2025, Huawei and its partners rebuilt core network infrastructure and restored more than 3,200 sites.

The work is technical, but its impact is deeply human. A restored signal can help emergency responders coordinate rescue efforts, allow families to contact loved ones, and reconnect isolated communities with the outside world.