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Comment by soupboy | Hacker News Reader

FEMA probably has a set of protocols and procedures around this and it is unreasonable to expect them to change their entire workflow to accommodate a couple of drones. Especially in a time of emergency, the best thing to do would be to not do random things and actually follow a set of rules so that you don't miss anything.

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Rule-based bureaucracies are clearly the best organisational model for dealing with stable, predictable situations such as rapidly unfolding natural disasters.

Oh wait...

Didn't patio11 write an entire article on how well Japan deals with earthquakes due to its "rule-based bureaucracy"?

http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/03/13/some-perspective-on-the-...

To be fair, that article also stated that: "Japanese does not have a word for excessive preparation."

I haven't noticed that tendency in western cultures... so an organisational structure that works in an environment where everyone is super-committed for a whole bunch of reasons can (and does) fail spectacularly in one which is a bit looser, less structured, more self-focused, etc.

That said, I assume neither of us know anything about natural disaster management, so we're both really theorising on a deeply practical matter... Our thoughts on the topic are probably not worth the bits carrying them ;-)

I'd be surprised if the Japanese rules precluded or prevented the use of technology.

Supposedly the current disaster-response structure was implemented specifically because of shortcomings in the 9/11 disaster response (along with one other major natural disaster, I forget which)

Katrina, probably.

No, they don't have such policies. They provide disaster response on the ground and managing airspace is well beyond their authority.

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