Breakdown of IT during Hurricane Katrina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Breakdown of IT during Hurricane Katrina - Essay Example They want to pool their knowledge and interpretations of the situation, understand what resources are available, assess options, plan responses, decide, commit, act, and coordinate. The heart of the network is the communication system they use and the ways they interact within it" (16). There are five elements that make up an HFN which includes "(1) a network of people established rapidly (2) from different communities, (3) working together in a shared conversation space (4) in which they plan, commit to, and execute actions, to (5) fulfil a large, urgent mission" (Denning, 16-17). The basis for forming an HFN for quick responses to emergencies or an urgent task, then disbanding the entire group upon completion of the desired outcome is not an entirely new concept as historically, an HFN has become a necessity in such devastating events such as: "(1) the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack that took 2,749 lives which resulted in severe economic impact, especially to airlines, and a stock market loss of $1.2 trillion, (2) the December 26, 2004 tsunami from a 9.1 earthquake that took over 283,000 lives, (3) the August 29, 2005 category-5 hurricane Katrina, which knocked out electric and communication infrastructure, over 90,000 square miles of Louisiana and Mississippi and displacing 1.5 million people" (Denning, 15) No matterNo matter the severity of the disasters and the impact on economic and environmental containments, there is an important moot point to be made: the "quality of the response depends not on response planning or on new equipment, but on the quality of the network that came together to provide relief" (Denning, 15) This type of response is not simply limited to what and how quickly relief was provided but also in how quickly the infrastructure response was mobilized. This infrastructure response includes restoration of voice and data communications, medical needs, etc. which are indirectly tied to the victims or those who are affected by natural disaster events. There are three categories that have been awarded when an HFN will respond and are broken down in the following table (Table 1): Category Characteristics Examples K: Known Know what to do Use existing network structures May choose not to respond Fast response team for time-critical business problem or opportunity KU: Known/Unknown Know what to do Don't know time or place Responding network structure known Local fire, small earthquake, civil unrest, military campaigns UU: Unknown / Unknown Don't know what to do Don't know time or place Responding network structure unknown 9/11 attack, other terrorist attacks, large earthquake, major natural disasters (Note: KU events can become UU events when scaled up to large areas or populations) Table 1: Kinds of events requiring response from hastily formed networks1 To further explain the category challenges, "the first category is the easiest and the least likely to stress the HFN; the middle category is the type that emergency agencies such as police and fire departments prepare for; but, the third category challenges are more defined as: Genuine surprise: the precipitating event is in no known category. There has been no advanced planning, training, or positioning equipment Chaos: everyone is