Feds: Crisis Communications Subpar In U.S., Homeland Security Survey Gives Only Six American Cities High Ratings For Emergency Communications - CBS Ne

Feds: Crisis Communications Subpar In U.S., Homeland Security Survey Gives Only Six American Cities High Ratings For Emergency Communications - CBS News: "Homeland Security is under the gun to improve emergency communications among first responders, and Chertoff has pledged to achieve nationwide interoperability by the end of 2008.

The Department of Homeland Security study comes five years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, revealed major problems in how well emergency agencies were able to talk to each other during a catastrophe. Many firefighters climbing the World Trade Center towers died when they were unable to hear police radio warnings to leave the crumbling buildings.

In New York now, the report said, first responders were found to have well-established systems to communicate among each other — but not the best possible.

Just over a year ago, Hurricane Katrina underscored communication problems when radio transmissions were hindered because the storm's winds toppled towers. "