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Communications abilities bolstered by new system LA officials say | 06.07.2007 | 09:43:19 | Views: 7683 | ID: June 7 '07: According to officials in Louisiana, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the single largest hurdle to response and rescue operations was the complete breakdown of communication among all levels of government, first responding agencies and emergency management operations. The Times Picayune reported that a new $32 million emergency communications system was installed which will allow officials from multiple parishes communicate with each other. "With the new system," the Picayune reported, "firefighters from Jefferson Parish would be able to talk to cops from St. Bernard at the flick of a switch ... Louisiana State Police and other state departments are also hooked in." Col. Jerry Sneed, the director of the New Orleans Office of Emergency Preparedness told the Picayune that communication breakdown during Katrina began when they lost power, then, "Everything that could go wrong did go wrong." The new system has already been tested with a real-life scenario after two tornadoes touched down just two weeks after the system was finished. According to area officials, communications were seamless and "mostly passed with flying colors."
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