Buried in several different news stories are brief mentions that the only communications working in the storm-ravaged areas of Louisiana and Mississippi are satellite phones. In New Orleans, apparently the only working telecom facility is the phone company central office (colocation facility), which was designed specifically to withstand storms and flooding. But it does not help much since all landlines to and from the facility are out.
It is a sober reminder of the power of nature and the need to have disaster recovery plans in place. FEMA and other agencies have been designing "instant communications" trucks for these kinds of disasters, but there probably not nearly enough. Picture one of the mobile TV station trucks with one of those extendable booms that rise up out of the truck, but instead of TV broadcasting equipment, the truck can provide cellular phone service, can connect to a working landline to act as a local phone switch, and can provide an instant WiFi hotspot so that data can be exchanged between laptops, as well as use other wireless to try to connect to the Internet via other trucks or working wireless access points.
These trucks probably ought to be owned by regional search and rescue organizations, especially in areas that are prone to floods and storms.
But even the satellite phone system is not foolproof; there's no weather in low earth orbit, but sunspots and solar flares can create disruptions with satellite communications. So we need multiple backup systems, and we can't take technology for granted--nature has a way of reminding us who is boss.