"Millions of dollars have been spent to upgrade emergency phone and radio communications systems since the Sept. 11 attacks, but Hurricane Katrina exposed a simple but nagging vulnerability: power.
In Katrina's aftermath, communication between different emergency-response agencies has been nearly impossible in places. Cell towers, emergency communications equipment and 911 centers in many locations are inoperable because they are underwater.
Federal agencies have churned out several reports detailing standards for first-responder phone and radio equipment and formed countless working groups. But this week officials in Washington have had trouble gathering information about the situation in hurricane-ravaged areas because communications are so sporadic."
Emphasis mine. Every time I see these words or the alternates (committee, blue ribbon panel, etc.) I cringe and internally translate the words into: "don't expect anything useful to happen". More often than not that translation is justified.
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