Wireless Technology in the Face of Natural Disaster

Katrina has been devastating, both in physical and psychological terms. Mine (and everyone else’s) heart goes out to everyone affected by the hurricane and its aftermath.

Once the dust has settled from the initial impact of this natural disaster, many people have begun to notice that of the most important components of our everyday lives, means of communications, have been completely shut down. While we have no answers yet, we do see the need for communications tools to get news and updates to the victims, to get information about the victims to their families, and to help coordinate rescue operations. I’ll direct you to Sascha Meinrath’s site where he talks about how (at least in part) wireless technologies can help:

Community Wireless Emergency Response

New Orleans CUWiN 2

Disaster Recovery CUWiN

I wouldn’t suggest that this is a complete answer, but its a start.