WASHINGTON-Public-safety, communications and special-interest group representatives came together last month to tell the Federal Communications Commission what worked and what didn’t during last year’s hurricane season-specifically Hurricane Katrina, which devasted the Gulf Coast.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin welcomed the group, noting it was the first time the agency “has brought together every sector of the communications sector to examine the impacts and lessons of a disaster. In the past, the FCC has had great success by bringing together industry sectors to examine network reliability.”
If the purpose was to figure out what happened and what needed to be changed, that goal was reached pretty quickly.
“It looks to me like we are already getting to some consensus as to what happened and what needs to be done,” said Lt. Colonel Joseph Booth, deputy superintendent of the Louisiana State Police.
Booth was one of the first presenters during the day-long meeting, where the same themes were repeated over and over again.
The general consensus was that reliable communications can help prevent a range of problems. Since this is not a revelation, it surprised those seated around the table to hear that public officials didn’t recognize that communications-repair personnel-whether they work in the private sector or for public-safety agencies-are necessary first responders in a disaster zone.
Indeed, during the hurricane repair personnel had difficulties getting to cell sites and switches before the generators ran out of fuel.
“Many of the delays that Cox experienced were unnecessary. We found ourselves having to go to Washington to get some of the things we needed,” said Greg Bicket, vice president and regional manager for Cox Communications Inc. “We anticipated some access to generator fuel and unfettered access for these early responder units.”
Since communications were down, different groups couldn’t work together to solve problems.
For example, Booth said he had difficulty getting fuel for his generator, but Steve Davis, senior vice president of engineering for Clear Channel Radio, said he could have used the company’s fuel.
“If we had known about Lt. Col. Booth’s need for fuel, we would have gladly provided fuel from our outdoor division,” said Davis.
While many refer to Katrina as a disaster, Sheriff Kevin Beary of Orange County, Fla.-who has seen his share of hurricanes-described it as a catastrophe.
“People plan for a disaster. Katrina was a catastrophe,” said Beary.
On the positive side and for reasons that no one could explain, text messaging continued to work after voice communications failed. However, there is no text-messaging capability for 911, Booth commented.
The police received text messages from people who were trapped, but there were also a lot of bogus messages that couldn’t be detected. Eventually, Booth said they set up an ad-hoc system for answering the messages from trapped victims and dispatching help.
He said he “hopes we can come up with some recommendations regarding the use of text messaging.”
Beary said that one solution to the communications problems posed by hurricanes is to move communications centers away from the coasts and to make them regional instead of local.
“We need to get our egos out of the closet and come together and create a regional communications system away from the coasts,” he said.
The FCC’s Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks created three working groups that will begin meeting by conference call, said Nancy Victory, chair and former Commerce secretary for communications and information. The panel hopes to hold a two-day meeting early next month in the Gulf Coast region.
Congress is also reviewing the topic. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing last week on law-enforcement communications during Hurricane Katrina.
