Donate [Was Re: Phone networks struggle in Hurricane Katrina's wake]

["Fergie (Paul Ferguson)" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

Apologies for the multiple posts, but I think this is important
enough to warrant a follow-up.

I send out a public challenge to each and every one of you
reading this to make a donation to the American Red Cross,
if for nothing else, think of it as a small effort to assist
the Red Cross in their efforts to establish emergency
communications in the region. Of course, the donation will
go towards all assistance efforts in the wake of Katrina, so
rationalize it however you will. :-)

 http://www.redcross.org/

Click and donate.


- ferg


-- "Fergie (Paul Ferguson)" <fergdawg () netzero net> wrote:

And via Slashdot:

[snip]

"In this age of cheap commoditized consumer electronics and advanced mobile technology, why can't all the people of a 
city make contact during an emergency? Cell phone circuits filled up during 9/11 attacks and in the wake of hurricane 
Katrina very few victims can make contact with their families, despite the fact that they have all those mobile phones. 
The Red Cross is looking to deploy satellite equipment From the article: to restore communications in affected areas."

"Katrina made landfall in Louisiana early this morning with sustained winds of 145 mph, but veered just enough to the 
east to spare New Orleans a direct blow. Even so, flooding, power outages and heavy damage to structures were reported 
throughout the region. The Red Cross tomorrow expects to begin deploying a host of systems it will need, including 
satellite telephones, portable satellite dishes, specially equipped communications trucks, high- and low-band radio 
systems, and generator-powered wireless computer networks, said Jason Wiltrout, a Red Cross network engineer."

[snip]

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/recovery/story/0,10801,104250,00.html

- ferg




-- "Fergie (Paul Ferguson)" <fergdawg () netzero net> wrote:

Via Reuters.

[snip]

Telephone companies struggled to restore service and measure the damage to their networks in Louisiana and Mississippi 
on Tuesday after Hurricane Katrina cut power and triggered severe flooding.

A spokesman for BellSouth Corp., the largest local telephone company in the region, said while the company estimated 
about 53,000 lines were out in the two states, the actual numbers were likely to be higher.

Cingular Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. said cellular service in the area had been affected as well.

All three companies said power losses were the main threat to further service failures, but that flooding was hampering 
their efforts to reach network equipment.

Entergy Corp. reported more than a million customers without power in Louisiana and Mississippi, and warned customers 
to expect a long and difficult restoration that could take weeks.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told television station WWL that 80 percent of the city was under water, and authorities 
declared martial law in some areas.

[snip]

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=9512696

- ferg


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/