Hurricane Hugo: effect on state government communications

The impact of Hugo on state government communications in South Carolina and activities in the wake of the disaster are discussed. The state of South Carolina has been chosen, along with California, as a model state for development of the National Communications System/Telecommunications Services Priority (NCS/TSP) model plan for emergency restoration of telecommunications services. This effort is being undertaken in conjunction with the National Communications System Organization in Washington, DC. They are assisting the state in development of the telecommunications services priority (TSP) plan, to be used in the future for coordinating restoration of critical federal, state, and local telecommunication services. A private sector partnership has been initiated with the telecommunications and utility companies in South Carolina to provide fiber-optic alternate routing and other communications backup capability to each of the emergency preparedness offices in South Carolina counties in future disasters. An exchange of disaster recovery plans with other states has been undertaken. Information regarding each of these efforts is provided