DA 21-1152 Released: September 14, 2021 PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU EXTENDS SCOPE OF HURRICANE IDA DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING TO INCLUDE THE EFFECTS HURRICANE NICHOLAS The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission), in coordination with Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is activating the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for portions of Texas and Louisiana to track the impact to communications from Hurricane Nicholas. This action will augment the ongoing DIRS activation for counties in Louisiana due to Hurricane Ida, many of which may be affected by both storms. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and Voice over Internet Protocol providers, and satellite 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 the 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. If any user has any problems accessing DIRS, please contact any of the numbers listed below. In DIRS, this new activation will have the following name: HURRICANES IDA AND NICHOLAS. 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 where DIRS has been activated. In addition, reports on HURRICANES IDA AND NICHOLAS are requested at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, 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 THE FOLLOWING: Louisiana: Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana Texas: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Orange, Wharton The FCC continues to monitor the storm and may amend the DIRS activation area in the coming days. For further information, please contact: Julia Tu (202) 418-0731, 202-321-4399 (cell), julia.tu@fcc.gov Michael Caiafa (202) 418-1311, (202) 277-5690 (cell), michael.caiafa@fcc.gov David Ahn (571) 232-8487 (cell), (202) 418-0853, david.ahn@fcc.gov FCC 24/7 Operations Center – 202-418-1122 For more information on the FCC’s response to Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas, please go to https://www.fcc.gov/Ida - FCC - 2