Chaos

If you turned on the news without knowing, you would think you were seeing film from a disaster in Mogadishu or Dacca, Bangladesh. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of people stranded in sweltering conditions without access to food, water, sanitation, power or any of the basics of human existence that we take for granted each day. Bodies floating in a toxic soup that has swallowed a city. An army of the dispossessed walking away from what had been their homes, their jobs, their very lives without any idea where they are heading or how they will find the emotional or financial fortitude to start again.

Anarchy in the streets. Hospitals unable to transport critically ill infants and other patients to safety, or even to unsafe locales that at least have electricity capable of saving their lives. Snipers taking pot shots at rescue helicopters, police and one another. Bands of armed youths roaming the city, terrorizing those living on the streets because there is no where else for them to go. Looters everywhere: some scavenging for food and water; other for shoes, liquor and guns.

But it is the rest of the country that is watching this tragedy unfold each day. Those affected most directly are effectively in a black-out zone due to a catastrophic failure of communications systems along with every other part of the infrastructure supporting these communities. People are frantic to find out if loved ones are safe, but landline and cellular service is essentially non-existent. They have no idea what, if any, help is coming or when it might get there. They are unaware of the outpouring of donations from people around the country; not only monetary, but offers of living facilities, clothes, and even jobs.

The lack of communications also is crippling for those trying to triage the disaster. It is difficult to organize help because groups are unable to communicate with one another in this highly volatile environment. Some limited instant messaging is getting out and news teams, telephone repair crews and others apparently are equipping themselves with satellite phones as they head into the fray, but options are limited. Perhaps most critical, the police, fire and other public safety agencies that have the unenviable task of trying to create order out of a chaotic situation are having to do so without communications capability.

Indeed, getting communications systems up and running may be one of the most important steps in beginning to restore normalcy. Blame cell phones, computers, satellite television or any number of other media, but we live in a world, or at least in a country, where immediate access to one another and to information sources is viewed as an unalienable right. Twenty or even ten years ago, before cell phones, Blackberries and laptops permitted us to stay in touch 24/7, people would not have felt the absence of communications access so keenly. Now, the loss of that capability is almost as debilitating as doing without electricity itself.

More important, asking public safety officers to perform their duties under these conditions without a link back to headquarters and to one another is above and beyond even their call. It is asking them to take a city back from armed marauders and masses of people that have been pushed beyond the brink of civility without an essential tool for protecting themselves. They may do it because of their commitment to public safety, but they shouldn’t be in a position where they have to fly blind in the face of a clear and present danger.

It is almost unthinkable that in our electronic age a storm, even a ferocious storm followed by a series of calamities that turned a difficult situation into a disaster, could bring a major US city to its knees. Ironically (if there can be such a concept at a time like this), this has taken place during the Federal Government’s National Preparedness Month. And perhaps there is no way of preparing for a cataclysmic event such as Katrina. That question undoubtedly will be debated ad nauseam in the months and years to come with plenty of finger pointing at all involved. Ex-FCC Chairman Hundt already has taken to the airways to press for a national emergency communications system that he says would have remained operational even under these dire circumstances. Other experts will have their own opinions about the problem and possible solutions.

If any good is to come out of Katrina it may be a reassessment of the vital importance of our communications infrastructure, both for public safety purposes and for the general population. That public officials need reliable communications is obvious. But for a populace accustomed to instant information access, there are few things as excruciating as being in a hellish situation without any idea when or how you may get relief. We can only hope that we never have another Katrina, but if we do we’d best be sure that secure and reliable communications capability is at the top of our list of priorities.