About this blog

Andrew Locke and Bob Sullivan

From Sept. 22-27, the posts in this blog about Rita's evacuation and devastation were reported and photographed by Bob Sullivan and Andrew Locke. Sullivan, 37, is MSNBC.com's technology and consumer fraud reporter. Locke, 34, in charge of MSNBC.com's editorial strategy, was on his second hurricane blog tour.

David Friedman and Miguel Llanos

From Sept. 18-22, the posts in this blog, examining Katrina's impact on the environment, were reported and photographed by Miguel Llanos and David Friedman. Llanos, 45, is MSNBC.com's environmental reporter. Photojournalist Friedman, 35, is a multimedia producer at MSNBC.com.

Kari Huus and Jim Seida

From Sept. 10-16, the posts in this blog were reported and photographed by Kari Huus and Jim Seida. Huus, 43, has been a journalist for 20 years and a reporter with MSNBC.com since 1996. Seida, 39, has been a media editor with the Web site since 1996.

Mike Brunker and Andrew Locke mugshot

From Sept. 2-9, the posts in this blog were reported and photographed by Mike Brunker, left, and Andrew Locke. A journalist for 25 years, Brunker, 49, is MSNBC.com's West Coast news editor. Locke, 34, has been a journalist for 17 years and is currently in charge of MSNBC.com's editorial media strategy.

How you can help

• How to help the victims of Hurricane Rita

• How to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Voices cutting through the chaos

Posted: Friday, September 16 at 04:48 pm CT by Kari Huus

PONCHATOULA, La. — On the road we often find ourselves listening to United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans, an operation thrown together by more than a dozen city radio stations during the disaster. I imagine this is the case for thousands of evacuees who now, to a great extent, live out of their cars. The signal reaches well beyond the city limits and provides a 24-hour-a-day stream of Katrina news, discussion and announcements about areas that are closed or opening, where the water is drinkable, where power is being restored, where curfews are in place, etc.

It’s a glimpse into just how fluid the situation is as people move around the region seeking help and begin returning to stricken areas to assess the damage. It is also a reminder of how critical radio remains during disasters that make other kinds of communication impossible or impractical. Click here for a listen to the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans.

MAIN PAGE NEXT POST Efficiency -- a curse and a blessing

Email this EMAIL THIS

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do no appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b0aa69e200d834593eb669e2

Syndicate this site

RSS is an easy way to get the news you want as it is updated even if you are not on MSNBC.com. More information about MSNBC.com's RSS feeds.

RSS