Cyclone Gabrielle broke vital communication links when people needed them most – what happened and how do we fix it?

Without power or phone coverage, some communities resorted to more traditional forms of communication. Getty Images

Modern communication systems need two main things: power, and what engineers call “backhaul”, the connections that link cell towers and exchanges to the national network. When Cyclone Gabrielle struck, both were badly compromised.

Many sites lost power not long after the mains went down. They were only designed to run on battery for a few hours (or days at most) – enough for routine faults, not for disasters.