Italy’s Earthquake Rescuers Ask Locals to Unlock Their Wi-fi to Assit in Search and Rescue

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Italy’s Earthquake Rescuers Ask Locals to Unlock Their Wi-fi to Assit in Search and Rescue

By CircleID Reporter
August 26, 2016, 1:17 am PDT Views: 6,440 Comments: 1

“Rescue teams searching for earthquake survivors in central Italy have asked locals to unlock their wi-fi passwords,” BBC reports. The Italian Red Cross says residents’ home networks can assist with communications during the search for survivors following Wednesday’s 6.2 magnitude earthquake which struck central Italy killing over 240 people. More than 4,300 rescuers are currently searching for survivors who are believed to still be trapped in the rubble. “On Twitter, the Italian Red Cross posted a step-by-step guide which explains how local residents can switch off their wi-fi network encryption.”

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Wifi during disasters Robert Martin-Legene – Aug 31, 2016 10:52 PM

A good idea, and possible even a better idea if the plan for a disaster area includes deploying open wifi everywhere, so people in trouble has the ability to signal someone. Maybe even a semi “captive portal” for the area, where they can send their information. Also, triangulating cell phone/wifi transmitters, could be interesting to do.

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