More on the question of how Katrina (and now Hurricane Rita to a lesser extent) shows the need for interoperable and redundant communications.

http://www.networkworld.com/edge/news/2005/092205-fcc-katrina.html

Widespread telephone and broadcast outages caused by Hurricane Katrina show that the U.S. needs more reliable and redundant communications systems, including a better emergency warning system, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Thursday.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin called for the U.S. government to incorporate the Internet into an emergency warning system that traditionally has been carried over television and radio stations, and he said telecommunications providers need to "take full advantage" of IP-based technologies to enhance their networks.

An emergency warning system "should incorporate the Internet, which was designed by the military for its robust network redundancy functionalities, and other advantages in technology so that officials can reach large numbers of people simultaneously through different communications media," Martin told the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Emergency responders need more radio spectrum to communicate with each other, Martin added, and they need new technologies like so-called "smart" radios that can jump to different frequencies when some telecommunications providers aren’t functioning, as happened when Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area in late August.

Technology