I blogged this post in July (on my old blog) when hurricane Dennis was making it’s way through the U.S. The VoIP weather network is now live for Katrina:

Check out the VoIP SKYWARN / HURRICANE NET SUPPORT SITE if you’re interested in listening to live updates from regions in the US affected by hurricane Dennis. The people talking on the audio feeds are Amateur Radio (Ham) operators that broadcast their radio transmissions over the Internet using Voice over IP (VoIP). It’s all part of the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP). EchoLink is one of the popular software packages used for VoIP (and it’s all free). You don’t need to be a licensed ham to listen to the broadcasts, but do need to be licensed to transmit “over the air”. It’s all an interesting combination of technologies in action — 2-way radio, computers, and the Internet.

As you may know, Amateur Radio has historically played an important role during disasters. In many cases it’s the only reliable means of communications when normal communications, such as landline telephones and cell phones, are not operational (sometimes for weeks). Check out the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), eHam.net, or send me an e-mail if you’re interested in Amateur Radio.