Armin Brunner, how did you first hear that the earthquake had occurred?

I'm on a mailing list of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich. This is why I learned about the quake just minutes after it happened. Early next morning an advance detachment of the SHA (1) flew to Algeria with three dogs. At 11 am the SHA called to ask whether I was ready to leave for Algeria within hours. The official notification arrived at 2 pm and by 5 pm I was at the airport. The airline Swiss flew 74 passengers and about 18 tons of material to Algeria. Our so-called detachment included people from SHA itself, dog trainers from "Redog" and rescue specialists from the Swiss army. Two seismologists from ETH Zurich also accompanied us.

The communications tent with fax, telephone and internet access in the area hit by the earthquake. large

What situation were you confronted within the earthquake area?

After landing we immediately left for Boumerdés, the town which had been most badly damaged. We set up our tents in a sports stadium in proximity to two of the locations that had been very badly struck. Neither water nor electricity was to be had. While the dog trainers and rescuers went straight to work, we began to set up an emergency power supply and set up connections for communication.

Weren't the GSM mobile phones working?

No, because of the power failure, we weren't able to use GSM mobile phones. When any catastrophe strikes, we have to assume that we are left entirely to our own resources. Apart from vehicles and petrol, which are not allowed to be transported on a plane, we are completely autonomous and independent of the local infrastructure. However, we only had enough water with us for a single day.

What means of communication do you use?

We set up two radio circuits on the damaged site using a relay service that afforded a coverage of about 25 kilometres. This enabled constant contact between the rescuers themselves on the one hand, and communication between the rescue parties and the site leader at "headquarters" in the stadium, on the other.

We used satellite phones to communicate with Switzerland. This allowed us to make calls and to send or receive faxes, if necessary. We were also able to check e-mail every half-hour or so via an Inmarsat connection. We were even able, if necessary, to set up a normal ISDN connection via satellite and download information from the Internet.

But even with satellite phones one is still dependent on others...

Yes, and that is why we always have short-wave devices for emergencies, so that we can communicate directly with Switzerland. A lot of people in our team are amateur radio operators , like, for example my colleague, Franz Koch (2). He has taken part in many missions but couldn't be with us this time. Radio amateurs nearly always manage to find some way of communicating, even under the direst circumstances.

Armin Brunner is sectional head of Communication at ETH Computer Services and member of the SKH's transmission group. large

Did you find the mission arduous?

It was physically very demanding. For the first 30 hours we were so busy that we didn't even have time to think of sleep. Afterwards, it hits home. But even then, it's difficult to fall asleep because one is so emotionally charged. Many laid down and got up an hour later because they couldn’t find sleep.

It saddened and depressed me to see the poverty and destruction, but I had imagined that it would burden me more emotionally than it did. I'm sure there are far worse missions.

How good was co-operation with the local authorities?

Quite good. One thing that struck me was the presence of numerous soldiers, probably called up to deter possible pillagers. Local civil defense helpers worked well and made the most of the scarce resources at their disposal. Foreign aid and emergency organisations were somewhat of a problem in certain places. A few only arrived with dogs while we were packing to go home. The chance of finding more survivors was nil, by then. At some point such emergency aid takes on a political dimension: all countries want to help, although some of them are simply not in a position to do so. Many teams were very badly equipped and not capable of working autonomously. Such teams are more a hindrance than a help to the local authorities.

One thing that touched me were the many Algerian men and women who, wherever we were, came up and thanked us spontaneously for our help.

There are still a number of Swiss hostages in the hands of their abductors in Algeria. Weren't you afraid of being kidnapped?

No. We had orders not to leave the camp after 8 pm if not absolutely necessary and never to take taxis. At night I slept in the communications tent to guard the equipment. But during the daytime there were always people around.

In addition to the communcations tent, three white, square parobolic dishes were provisionally set up on the steps of the stadium. large

Why do you hold yourself at the disposition of SHA?

I don't do military or civil defense service. The engagement with the SHA is my way of doing something for society. And I can put my professional know-how to good use.