Which Way to the National Grid?

The article discusses the ineffectiveness of the National Grid, a unified mapping system endorsed by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help emergency responders navigate a city where street signs and other landmarks are destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It is a system based on coordinates provided by satellite imagery. It is compatible with all military mapping systems, but is useless unless rescue workers know how to read it. FEMA Press Secretary Aaron Walker explained that they did not use the Grid during the hurricane because most state and local agencies depended on street addresses or on latitude and longitude coordinates.