The FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) has been deactivated at the request of the FEMA for areas affected by Hurricane Irma, which included parts of Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Georgia and Alabama. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers—including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and VoIP providers—can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis. Though communications providers are no longer being asked to provide additional DIRS reporting in connection with Irma, the FCC anticipates that soon FEMA will separately request DIRS reactivation for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
