NOTE: FROM EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN SO FAR, THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON THAT SHOULD BE LEARNED FROM THIS ONGOING DISASTER IS THE FAILURE TO PLAN FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO AND PRIMARILY IN HOW THEY COULD COMMUNICATE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. ALMOST EVERY EXCUSE I'VE HEARD FROM THOSE IN AUTHORITY ON THE GROUND, AS TO WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THIS OR THAT WAS BLAMED ON INABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE DUE TO THE PHONE AND CELL PHONES BEING DOWN AND OUT OF SERVICE. DUH!....WHAT DID THEY THINK WOULD HAPPEN WITH NO ELECTRICITY! IN THE FUTURE, FOR ALL POTENTIAL DISASTERS LIKE THIS, INCLUDING A NUCLEAR DISASTER, PLANS MUST INCLUDE NUMEROUS AND REDUNDANT COMMUNICATIONS PLANS. ALL CITIES SHOULD HAVE MILITARY TYPE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS AS A MINUMUM. SURE, THERE IS ALOT MORE THAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED, BUT FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR THIS IS THE MOST CRITICAL.
I'll bet you there were still a least a few ham radio operators down there working away through the aftermath. Hams ALWAYS find a way to keep going. We're generally some of the most emergency-prepared folks you'll ever find. (OK, I'm not, but most others are!)
There has been a tendency to dismiss amateur radio in these days of email and cellphones, but it still can be very useful in civil defense situations. The Red Cross and Salvation Army in particular lean heavily on volunteer hams, I bet there's dozens to hundreds down there now.
}:-)4