[LeArc] Katrina Report Out (Good for Hams!)

[Duane Whittingham]

Good for hams, btw this file is big, might take a while on dialup. [Duane]

Here is the link to the 220+ page Federal report on Katrina in pdf.
Amateur Radio is mentioned in appendix B - the "What Went RIGHT" section!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned.pdf


More:

 From the CQ Newsroom


The White House today released its review of the federal response to
Hurricane Katrina, which, according to a statement, "identifies the
systemic problems in Federal emergency preparedness and response revealed
by
Hurricane Katrina - and the best solutions to address them." The report
included 17 lessons the Executive Branch learned after reviewing and
analyzing the response to Katrina; made 125 specific recommendations to
the President, and identified 11 critical actions to be completed before
the
first day of the 2006 hurricane season.

The report also included a section titled, "What Went Right" in the
Katrina response, which singled out amateur radio operators for
particular
praise:

"Other organizations worked tirelessly to assist emergency responders
that,
due to the storm, did not have the equipment and means to effectively
carry out their duties. Amateur Radio Operators from both the Amateur
Radio
Emergency Service and the American Radio Relay League, monitored distress

calls and rerouted emergency requests for assistance throughout the U.S.
until messages were received by emergency response personnel. A distress
call made from a cell phone on a rooftop in New Orleans to Baton Rouge
was relayed, via ham radio, from Louisiana to Oregon, then Utah, and
finally
back to emergency personnel in Louisiana, who rescued the 15 stranded
victims. Ham radio operators voluntarily manned the amateur radio
stations at sites such as the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Watch
Net,
Waterway Net, Skywarn and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio
Network."

Finally, the report identified three immediate priorities:

1) Implementing a comprehensive National Preparedness System "to make
certain that we have a fully national system that ensures unity of effort
in preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters;"

2) Creating a "Culture of Preparedness" that "emphasizes that the entire
Nation - at all levels of government, the private sector, communities,
and individual citizens - shares common goals and responsibilities for
homeland security;" and

3) Implement corrective actions "to ensure we do not repeat the problems
encountered during Hurricane Katrina."

A White House fact sheet summarizing the report is available online at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060223.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer
Tom and Darryl Radio Shows
Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - Telstar 6 (IA6) Ch 1 6.2/6.8 mHz
Also on WTND-LP Macomb 106.3 FM, WQNA 88.3 FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz & the Internet.
Heard Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tues 1am ET (Folk)
An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show.
http://www.tomanddarryl.org
http://www.wtnd.us