Update - Email to Local HAM VP
Today, the following email was sent to Don Arnold, Vice President, Jackson Country Amateur Radio Association (email Darlaarnold@cableone.net):
Dear Mr. Arnold,
I am a coordinator for our St. Andrews Subdivision Website
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/osprings/standrews and Mr. Don Wilson recommended you.
Recently we have been doing some hurricane planning, and one of our neighbors suggested that a website provide information so that evacuees can keep up with damage estimates and recovery information to plan their returns. I talked to Butch Loper, the new county disaster coordinator, and he is supportive about the idea. However, he does not have time or manpower to put it together right now.
So I have been working to establish a contact with a local HAM Radio group that can fill the need. Evacuees do not get information from local media when they evacuate North to Hattiesburg or Jackson, and they need to know what to expect on return and when to begin return. So they will need information about flooding, road obstructions, utility outages, county debris removals, whatever they can learn about the extent of damage, and possibly where volunteers are needed. Also, those who stay through the storm can use the same information.
The Internet can be useful in sharing the information. A web site can report announcements from Butch, situation reports from other sources, recovery plans and schedules. Ideally, the web site should be the county emergency coordinator's website, and whomever is updating the information should be in the County command center. Until that is possible, maybe you can use your own network to maintain your own web site, and Butch can publicize a link from his webpage to yours. I will also include a link to your site from our neighborhood site. Lastly, you are also welcome to post your information in the discussion section of our website. This month we are getting about 3000 hits, and it is becoming known around the St. Andrews area. Our local cable television provider is publicizing the site as a place where our neighbors can inform each other about flood waters, road outages, damage, needs, and recovery efforts, etc.
If you are excited about the idea, I would like to talk with Butch and you about getting started. We will need Butch to provide space in the command center, access, internet connection and a radio antenna for you to operate in the county command center. If that is not possible, we will need Butch to provide members of your association media access and a link on the county emergency website to your website.
By Al Pettigrew
Today, the following email was sent to Don Arnold, Vice President, Jackson Country Amateur Radio Association (email Darlaarnold@cableone.net):
Dear Mr. Arnold,
I am a coordinator for our St. Andrews Subdivision Website
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/osprings/standrews and Mr. Don Wilson recommended you.
Recently we have been doing some hurricane planning, and one of our neighbors suggested that a website provide information so that evacuees can keep up with damage estimates and recovery information to plan their returns. I talked to Butch Loper, the new county disaster coordinator, and he is supportive about the idea. However, he does not have time or manpower to put it together right now.
So I have been working to establish a contact with a local HAM Radio group that can fill the need. Evacuees do not get information from local media when they evacuate North to Hattiesburg or Jackson, and they need to know what to expect on return and when to begin return. So they will need information about flooding, road obstructions, utility outages, county debris removals, whatever they can learn about the extent of damage, and possibly where volunteers are needed. Also, those who stay through the storm can use the same information.
The Internet can be useful in sharing the information. A web site can report announcements from Butch, situation reports from other sources, recovery plans and schedules. Ideally, the web site should be the county emergency coordinator's website, and whomever is updating the information should be in the County command center. Until that is possible, maybe you can use your own network to maintain your own web site, and Butch can publicize a link from his webpage to yours. I will also include a link to your site from our neighborhood site. Lastly, you are also welcome to post your information in the discussion section of our website. This month we are getting about 3000 hits, and it is becoming known around the St. Andrews area. Our local cable television provider is publicizing the site as a place where our neighbors can inform each other about flood waters, road outages, damage, needs, and recovery efforts, etc.
If you are excited about the idea, I would like to talk with Butch and you about getting started. We will need Butch to provide space in the command center, access, internet connection and a radio antenna for you to operate in the county command center. If that is not possible, we will need Butch to provide members of your association media access and a link on the county emergency website to your website.
By Al Pettigrew
