In the path of Hurricane Helene: FirstNet aids responders during response and recovery

When Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeast United States in late 2024, it caused widespread devastation. Communities faced powerful winds, flooding, and infrastructure damage that stretched across multiple states. Yet amid the destruction, public safety sprang into action to protect lives and restore community services quickly and safely. From the field to 9-1-1 call centers, public safety agencies turned to FirstNet to help maintain critical communications when traditional infrastructure was destroyed by the storm. Public safety in Tennessee and North Carolina relied on FirstNet resiliency and redundancy during the hurricane and in the days that followed. In North Carolina, Hurricane Helene put pressure on Public Safety Answering Points in the western part of the state, which saw a surge in 9-1-1 calls. From September 26-28, when the hurricane was most devastating, North Carolina emergency telecommunicators answered nearly 90,000 calls—a 55 percent increase compared to the same period the year before. Since 2023, the North Carolina 9-1-1 Board has worked in partnership with AT&T and the FirstNet Authority to build a highly resilient IP-based network called ESInet. ESInet is a closed private network for 9-1-1 traffic only; FirstNet provides redundant connectivity for ESInet. This system-wide redundancy ensured North Carolinians could still reach help when they needed it most.