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COMMUNICATIONS FAILURES |
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by Wikipedia Coordination of rescue efforts August 29 and August 30 were frustrated by inability to communicate. Many telephones, including most cell phones, were not working due to line breaks, destruction of base stations, or power failures, even though some base stations had their own back-up generators. In a number of cases, reporters were asked to brief public officials on the conditions in areas where information was not reaching them any other way. Amateur radio has been providing tactical and emergency communications as well as health-and-welfare enquiries All local television stations were disrupted, but the news crews moved quickly to sister locations in nearby cities. Local newspapers moved out of the affected area. Broadcasting and publishing on the Internet became an important means of distributing information to evacuees and the rest of the world. On September 4th, Mayor Nagin told CNN reporter Nic Robertson that a communications hub had been set up at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown New Orleans. |