WASHINGTON—California is once again being hit with a series of devastating wildfires all across the state, which the latest report from the FCC for Wednesday, Oct. 30, reveals have caused power shutoffs for 173,058 cable and wireline subscribers, causing in many instances the loss of TV, internet and phone services.

This all comes from the Disaster Information Reporting System, which the FCC activated late last week and extended over the weekend. On Wednesday, the FCC added five counties, making DIRS activated in 37 counties.

The latest report released from the FCC has 25 TV stations report that they were operational, while no stations were reporting being out of service at that time. However, there are 13 FM radio stations that reported as out of service; it was 21 on Tuesday. Three FM stations were out of service but programming was being sent to another station (KRSH, KXTS, KSXY). One AM station, KVIP, also reported as being out of service.

The out of service FM stations are K236AW, K238AF, K264AL, K265CV, K270BE, K276EK, KAWJ, KCAI, KHAP, KKDV, KLVY, KNOB and KNVE 

The 32 counties where DIRS was activated are as follows: Alpine, Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba. 

The DIRS report also shares that status of 911 service (all are currently operational) and cell sites out of service.

TV Technology will update this story as the most recent DIRS report is made available.

WASHINGTON--The FCC is extending its disaster data collection to additional counties in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina for Hurricane Dorian.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) had announced the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 2. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and Voice over Internet Protocol providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.

The Commission requests that communications providers that provide service to any areas listed below expeditiously submit and update information through DIRS regarding, inter alia, the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power). Communications providers can accomplish this by accessing DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/. Providers that have not previously done so will be asked to first provide contact information and obtain a User ID when they access DIRS. There is a link on the login page that will allow them to obtain a User ID and password. If a user does not remember his/her password, he/she should use the forgotten password link on the login page.

Communications providers are reminded that for providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties/municipalities where DIRS has been activated. Reports are requested beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 5, 2019, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated.

Communications providers that serve an area listed below and that have already provided contact information in DIRS will be sent an e-mail requesting that they provide the above-referenced status information through DIRS. For any communications providers that have not already logged onto DIRS to input their contact information, the Commission encourages them to do so as soon as possible.

COUNTIES OF INTEREST FOR THIS ACTIVATION INCLUDE:

Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Desoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Union and Volusia

Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, Mcintosh, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Ware, Wayne, and Wheeler

South Carolina: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, and Williamsburg

North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson

WASHINGTON—As residents of the southeastern U.S. wonder whether Hurricane Dorian will affect their area, the FCC has activated its Disaster Information Reporting system for 35 counties all along the east and southern coast of Florida.

DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system for communications providers including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and VoIP providers to report infrastructure status and situational awareness during emergencies.

The FCC initiated its DIR for Puerto Rico last week when it was anticipated that Hurricane Dorian—now a Category 3 hurricane—would hit the islands. Dorian instead made a beeline for the Bahamas where it remained stationary for the past 24 hours. The storm is now approximately 100 miles west of the Florida coast and is anticipated to make a northward move and skirt the southeastern U.S. this week.

The counties include: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Desoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Union and Volusia.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement on Monday on the commission's efforts to help communications providers weather the storm. 

“As Hurricane Dorian comes closer to the southeast coast, the FCC has been working throughout the weekend to finalize preparations for the storm and coordinate with our federal and state partners," Pai said. "Our staff has reached out to wireless carriers and broadcasters to offer assistance. With our government partners, including FEMA, we have worked to ensure that communications providers and power companies closely coordinate their activities as needed when service restoration efforts get underway—making sure they implement lessons learned from Hurricane Michael. And we have reminded wireless carriers of the need to have roaming agreements in place before the storm hits.

“Additionally, FCC staff have been deployed to conduct ‘pre-landfall’ surveys of the radiofrequency spectrum in projected impact areas, which will help us identify any impacts to public safety communications and broadcaster outages," Pai added. "We have activated our Disaster Information Reporting System to collect and report information on the status of communications services. And as always, our Operations Center is open 24 hours a day to assist first responders and communications providers. To those who could be in the storm’s path, please heed the advice of local officials and stay safe.”

The FCC added that it may add more areas to the DIR list depending on the movement of the storm.

Communications providers can access the DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/. Reports are requests beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3 and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. 

WASHINGTON—The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has announced the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Tropical Storm Dorian, which is already affecting parts of Puerto Rico. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and VoIP providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.

The affected providers are are asked to submit and update information through DIRS regarding the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power), by accessing DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/.

For providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties/municipalities where DIRS has been activated. Reports are requested beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Aug. 29 and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. ET until DIRS is deactivated.

For now, the affected areas only include most of Puerto Rico, however it could be expanded as Dorian is anticipated to hit the east coast of the United States, possibly as a Category 2 hurricane, by this weekend. 

WASHINGTON—More than a month after Hurricane Maria hit, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are still feeling the effects on their broadcast and communication systems. Since the last DIRS update TV Technology covered, there has been improvement on the operation status of some Puerto Rico TV stations.

According to the DIRS report from Oct. 29, five TV stations—WKAQ, WIPR, WNJX, WTIN and WORO—in Puerto Rico are confirmed as operational. There are still two stations that are suspected to be out of service, WIPM and WELU. In addition, there are 67 TV stations that have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline and 33 TV stations that have unconfirmed status.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, 14 stations have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline, while two stations have unconfirmed status.

Cell site service is also improving. Reports still show that Puerto Rico has 57.4 percent of its cell sites out of service, but all but 16 counties on the island have more than 50 percent of cell site service. The report also says that for the first time since Hurricane Maria hit no county in Puerto Rico has 100 percent of its cell sites down. Wireless companies have also opened up roaming on the island to boost access. As a result, approximately 64 percent of the population is reportedly covered by wireless carriers.

For the U.S. Virgin Islands, 36.4 percent of cell sites are still down, though St. John still has 100 percent of its cell sites out of service. DIRS reports that 93 percent of the population is covered.

DIRS is still activated for all counties in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read the full report here.

WASHINGTON—As another hurricane has impacted U.S. territories, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has once again activated the Disaster Information Reporting System.

Hurricane Maria thus far has impacted Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and PSHSB has activated DIRS for all counties on those islands. Stations are required to submit and update daily information through DIRS regarding the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts and power. Requests for reports began Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. and must continue until DIRS is deactivated.

Companies that had provided information for Hurricane Irma in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands are asked to input new reports for Hurricane Maria, and that these new reports be the ones updated daily.

Here is the full list of counties that are included in this activation of DIRS:

Puerto Rico: Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa and Yauco

U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas

WASHINGTON—UPDATE 9/11: After Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida over the weekend, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC has extended the Disaster Information Reporting System to all counties in Florida, in addition to the previously announced—and some new—counties in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that allows communications providers to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis. For communications providers that are in the activated area, the FCC requests that information be submitted and updated regarding status of communication equipment, restoration efforts and power. The information can be submitted at www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/.

DIRS has been activated for the following counties:

Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Desoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, Washington

Puerto Rico: Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco

Virgin Islands: St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas.

Communications providers that take part in DIRS are requested to submit reports at 10 a.m. daily until DIRS is deactivated.

WASHINGTON—The latest data report from the FCC on the status of communications in the wake of Harvey is decidedly mixed. Cell sites and TV stations are showing fewer stations off the air, but more radio stations are out of service and cable/broadband subscribers are also without service.

Read the full story on TVT’s sister publication B&C.

WASHINGTON—The FCC is offering its support to the communities affected by Hurricane Harvey by having its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau activate the Disaster Information Reporting System. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communication providers can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during crises.

Communication providers in Louisiana and Texas—broadcasters, cable operators, wireless and wireline telecommunication providers—are being asked to submit and update information through DIRS regarding the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts and power. The information can be submitted through www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster. Daily reports are requested at 10 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated. Providers who haven’t previously submitted to DIRS must provide contact information and obtain a user ID to access DIRS.

Louisiana counties where DIRS has been activated include: Acadia, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne and Vermilion.

Texas counties include: Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Duval, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Harris, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kleberg, Lavaca, Liberty, Live Oak, Matagorda, McMullen, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton, Willacy and Wilson.