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  • THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2005 5:39 PM

New Orleans Emergency Radio Hits The Web

Submitted by bean

Edited by bean

Earlier today, a stream broadcasting feeds from a scanner monitoring emergency radio frequencies in New Orleans was posted on the blog of a data center operator who stayed behind to keep the data center he works at open. The broadcast stream was quickly overrun, but now a list of multiple stream mirrors has been posted to a wiki which was set up to disseminate information and intelligence about New Orleans and the Katrina clean-up.

Monitored radio systems are

  • Louisana State Police Troops

  • Louisana EOC

  • National Guard

  • Red Cross

  • Louisiana Hospital Association

  • Office of Public Health

  • and a few others



The broadcasts have been pretty quiet since 3PM EST today, according to the wiki page, but there's sporadic communication going on, and it's pretty fascinating. A moment ago I heard one unit report that a hospital in the area was requesting that armed guards stay there overnight, and another coordinating the pickup of a mechanic who has been working on repairing something relating to the sewer and water system. Until tomorrow, though, don't be surprised if you're listening to 30 seconds or more of dead air between communications.

It's somehow reassuring to hear calm, collected voices coming from the area and talking about securing and repairing things, as opposed to the frantic messages and reports of chaos we've been seeing all day. It's good to know that there actually is progress being made, even if there's chaos elsewhere in the city.


You can help out with the relief efforts. To help, contact the American Red Cross. You can donate on their web site or over the phone at (800) HELP NOW (435-7669). Donations of cash are far more flexible than in-kind donations and are therefore preferred. The American Red Cross has mobilized thousands of volunteers to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and is sending close to 2,000 volunteers in the area to begin the initial response over the next few days.

For more ways to help, check out Instapundit's roundup of relief organizations.

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Comments
bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

SEP 01, 2005 05:48 PM

Wow, just now there was an Emergency Operating Center trying to coordinate the evacuation of "multiple babies" from just outside the Superdome to a hospital in Baton Rouge.

AceTracer

acetracer

Hollywood, FL
January 2004

SEP 01, 2005 05:56 PM

Slight inconsistency there bean, the site you linked to is not Wikipedia, but another wiki that was recently started up and posted on the guy's blog to disseminate information.

I love wikis.

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

SEP 01, 2005 06:01 PM

AceTracer said:
Slight inconsistency there bean, the site you linked to is not Wikipedia, but another wiki that was recently started up and posted on the guy's blog to disseminate information.

I love wikis.


Dammit. You're right. I love wikis too, I just wish they didn't all look just like Wikipedia. wink

Michael_DeSade

Michael_DeSade

Seattle, WA
OLD SKOOL

SEP 01, 2005 06:04 PM

That's....oddly comforting.
ARRR!!!

AceTracer

acetracer

Hollywood, FL
January 2004

SEP 01, 2005 06:20 PM

bean said:

AceTracer said:
Slight inconsistency there bean, the site you linked to is not Wikipedia, but another wiki that was recently started up and posted on the guy's blog to disseminate information.

I love wikis.


Dammit. You're right. I love wikis too, I just wish they didn't all look just like Wikipedia. wink


Credit the excellent work by the makers of WikiMedia for making it so easy to install and use smile I do kind of wish they had other themes that were as usable as monobook (the default theme and what Wikipedia uses) but the added benefit is that anyone that visits any wiki with the same look instantly knows where everything is and how to use/add to it.

Mozilla customized theirs rather nicely though.

googused

googused

Portland, OR
OLD SKOOL

SEP 01, 2005 07:02 PM

You know, I just learned all about this emergency radio stuff the other day, as I work in communications for the city out here. What I basically learned was that if all the 800Mhz stations are out (we have 2 redundancies), everything is dropped down to base functions where you're basically running an open talk system. Portland, which is pretty much the same size as New Orleans has, I believe 6 channels total. 2 police, 2 fire, an Ops channel and our Maintenance (sewers, streets and structures) shares with Water Bureau. If they have a similar system in N.O. that means every police communication is sharing 2 channels with everyone talking on top of each other and so on down the line.

Portland has the advantage of all our radio towers being on hills. They probably lost all their repeater stations until the military establishes communications. I doubt they have any batteries left in their mobiles and nowhere to charge new ones.

Al this should have been in place by Tuesday, and here we come up on Friday. I can't imagine what the last three days have been like.

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

SEP 01, 2005 07:07 PM

googuse said:
Portland has the advantage of all our radio towers being on hills. They probably lost all their repeater stations until the military establishes communications. I doubt they have any batteries left in their mobiles and nowhere to charge new ones.


I'm pretty sure they've got some sort of communications equipment deployed, since it seems like that'd be a first priority, and they were trying to get an Air Traffic Control unit into New Orleans from Texas a little earlier. I could be wrong though. Since it's all on one stream, I don't know how many channels there are that are being monitored and how they negotiate between them.

[Edited on Sep 01, 2005 by bean]

googused

googused

Portland, OR
OLD SKOOL

SEP 01, 2005 07:31 PM

Wow - those poor cops are scared shitless. I heard an estimate that up to 60% of the force hasn't reported for duty.

photoline

photoline

Edmonton, AB
January 2005

SEP 01, 2005 07:55 PM

Many thanks for the links. FYI to anyone who wishes to donate to relief effort:

HTTP://WWW.REDCROSS.ORG

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