Cellphone(s), solar panel(s) saved many lives (Bangladesh cyclone)

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=12482

Mobile phone communication and solar panel power are literally saving many lives in the remote cyclone hit areas, and greatly helping rescue and relief operations.

A large number of villages in the hard-hit southwestern region of the country had been using solar panels for the last few years to get limited electricity. Many of the more than 50,000 solar panels in the region have been destroyed in Thursday's cyclone but a good number of those are still operating.

The cyclone shattered the life and living of people in this region. Using mobile phones, which are now being powered by solar panels, many of the affected people are maintaining contact with the rest of the country.

Following the cyclone, the country's power system tripped and most part of it remained without power for the whole day on Friday. This caused the mobile phone network stations, many of which were running on back up batteries, to stop functioning.

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They do not have to 'experiment' with centralized power plants and telecomms first, but can leapfrog ahead to newer and more efficient tech.

:thumbsup: