Technology’s Response to Katrina

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It's easy to feel helpless in the face of a storm such as Hurricane Katrina, which brought death and devastation to a widespread area. While there was no way to prevent the storm, in its aftermath those engaged in relief efforts have been helped by a wide range of technology, from eyes in the sky to communication devices on the spot. This article covers just a few of the high tech efforts aimed at helping the victims of the hurricane.

Sometimes it’s very hard to imagine, safe as we feel with all of our twenty-first century conveniences, that we can lose everything in the course of a few hours of Nature’s fury. Here in South Florida, where Hurricane Katrina blew by on its way to wrecking true havoc in Louisiana, Mississippi, and elsewhere, many of us suffered nothing worse than the inconvenience of going without power for a few days. The reports coming out of places where people weren’t so lucky leave us amazed, horrified, and aching to help. What does all of our technological might amount to, when pitted against such a storm?

The answer is, more than you might think. It is true that, as of this writing, the regions most affected by the storm have no electricity, a lot of infrastructure damage, spotty phone and Internet service at best, and many other problems. But many companies, researchers, and other organizations and individuals are rolling up their sleeves and pitching in to help with the relief effort. And technology is playing a huge role every step of the way.

The first thing one needs to do in a situation like this is assessment. Rescue workers need to get in to help people, yes, but how can you get in when the whole city may be underwater? What roads will get you there? Here the Federal Emergency Management Agency found itself with an interesting ally: the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which is normally tasked with analyzing satellite images for the espionage community. On the Friday after the storm hit Louisiana and Mississippi, the agency sent 100 images to FEMA, showing where highways, hospitals, schools and police stations were located along the hurricane’s path. Even more importantly, it sent FEMA a very good satellite image of downtown New Orleans.

NGA spokesman Stephen Honda seemed pleased with the role his agency could play in the relief effort. “NGA can determine the overall damage to a transportation network infrastructure – what roads are out, what roads are flooded – which is critical for FEMA getting relief supplies into the disaster area,” he observed. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time the NGA has used its satellite imagery expertise to assist with humanitarian efforts. Firefighters find their images helpful when fighting forest fires, and they also assisted the relief efforts after last year’s Asian tsunami.

Next: High Tech on the Spot >>
 

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