Radio Communications Connect First Responders Throughout Katrina

Radio Communications Connect First Responders Throughout Katrina

Despite the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, a range of local, city, parish, commercial and military radio communications systems have withstood the impact of the storm and remained online, providing a crucial communications link for public safety responders throughout the state.

In St. Tammany Parish, LA, which includes the hard-hit communities of Covington, Madisonville and Slidell, the first responders have used M/A-COMs five-site, eight-channel simulcast EDACS (Enhanced Digital Access Communications System) system to communicate before, during and after the hurricane. We are thrilled that our first responders have been able to rely 100 percent on our radio communications system throughout this demanding time, despite the fact that the system has experienced more use during the last two weeks then we would usually see in two months, said Rick Williams, Manager Radio Maintenance Division, St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office. The system of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office has operated at nearly full capacity throughout the crisis, providing uninterrupted radio communications to more than 1,600 users across the Parish.

When M/A-COM designed the City of New Orleans radio system, system architects incorporated extensive sets of data to analyze the impact of Hurricane Betsey and Camille, which directly hit New Orleans in 1965 and 1969, respectively. As a result, the twenty-four channel, four-site EDACS trunked simulcast system was purposely situated at elevated levels around the city, including locating the system control room in the 34th floor in the building core of the Energy Centre, a 42-story skyscraper at 1100 Poydras Street in downtown New Orleans.

Additionally, system architects incorporated an independent, dedicated microwave communications system to eliminate reliance on commercial or government communications infrastructure.

Throughout the duration of Hurricane Katrina, the EDACS system remained operational. It wasnt until several hours after the storm had passed that the system experienced reduced operation. The system did not experience diminished capabilities due to an equipment failure, but rather the systems generator (on the roof of the forty-two story Energy Centre) was struck by a piece of debris, which damaged the generators radiator. The morning after the storm, Tuesday, August 30th, service technicians were pre-positioned to fix the Energy Centre site, but due to public safety precautions by Louisiana State authorities, they were prohibited from entering the city to access the building until the afternoon of Thursday, September 1st. After M/A-COMs team accessed the system on Thursday, it was returned to full operation by Friday morning and has since been providing communications for local police and fire personnel throughout New Orleans.

The New Orleans EDACS system has withstood a variety of challenges since its installation in 1995, including Hurricane Georges (Category 2) in 1998 and Hurricane Lili (Category 1) in 2002. The New Orleans system was designed with reserve communications capacity which has been utilized every year during Mardi Gras festivities, for special events such as Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and when necessary the system has been made available to other city, county, state and federal agencies operating in New Orleans.

M/A-COM, Inc., a business unit of Tyco Electronics, is a supplier of critical communications systems and equipment for public safety, utility, federal and select commercial markets. For more information, visit: http://www.macom-wireless.com .