What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate

From the AP:

New Orleans Cops Use Single Radio Channel

By BRUCE MEYERSON
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 1, 2005; 8:56 PM

When the phones don't work, improvise. That's what emergency responders and civilians were forced to do in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which trashed the telephone system on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Police in New Orleans, their main communications system knocked out, have been taking turns talking on a single radio channel with their walkie talkies. The Mississippi National Guard even resorted to ancient battlefield tactics, sending runners back and forth among commanders with information.