Big Picture Science: Hurricane Comms
A big challenge during a hurricane or other disaster is
keeping lines of communication open when the power goes out. In this episode,
the second in our series tied to the 20th anniversary of hurricane Katrina, we
report from the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans about a technology
used in 2005, and still employed today, to provide vital information during a
crisis.
In our age of growing reliance on cellphones and funding cuts to
federal agencies tasked with disaster communications, could ham radio
be our
last antenna standing during a chaotic catastrophe? “Hams” talk about
their
ability to keep information flowing during a storm. Meanwhile, a very
recent
technology, artificial intelligence, is playing a growing role in
hurricane preparedness. Emergency responders tell us how they use AI to
issue warnings,
describe the limits of the technology, and why – and when – humans
should step
in.
Guests:
- Bobby Graves – Network manager for Hurricane Watch Net amateur radio. His call sign is KB5HAV.
- Julio Ripoll – A coordinator and founder of the National Hurricane Center amateur radio station, WX4NHC in Miami, Florida where he has been a volunteer for 45 years.
- Matt Anderson – Call sign KT5KNZ, volunteer at the Louisiana State Emergency Operations Center for two decades. He was active during hurricane Katrina.
- Todd Devoe – Emergency management coordinator for the city of Inglewood, California.
- Brian Head – Chair of the fire rescue law enforcement and military track for the National Hurricane Conference; executive director with Buffalo Computer Graphics, former employee with the New York State Emergency Management Office.
Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/hurricane-comms
You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/
Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment