Biloxi and Gulfport

Richard Fowler (Board Member) writes:

I was at a conference in Mobile, AL, this week and thought I'd take the opportunity to go and have a look at what was happening in Biloxi and Gulfport.

The devastation from Katrina was astonishing. A few very large casinos / hotels were still standing but everything else close the the shore was either flattened or substantially demolished. Loads of plots with a concrete slab and nothing else. There was a cemetery overlooking the sea where huge slabs of marble had obviously just been picked up and dumped in one corner by the power of the water. Everywhere there were huge trees not just knocked over but just completely shredded. Over a mile from the coast trees were still completely snagged with plastic and other debris that had been washed in.

The further west I went the worse it got. I headed north while still 70 or 80 miles from New Orleans. So since that was where the centre of the storm was I can't imagine what that would have been like. Noticed that there were still pretty large trees broken or knocked over at least 150 miles from the coast. Almost as far as Tuscaloosa, AL.

There were a lot of dead dogs on the side of the road, and of course plenty of vultures as well. I think I read about this. After the storm a lot of dogs were abandoned or couldn't get back to their owners so they went wild and started to adopt a primaeval pack mentality. It was like a different world.

Further north in Alabama there were convoys of lorries carrying single-wides with FEMA stickers on them.

The media only seems to talk about New Orleans, but it seemed clear that there was a huge disaster in Mississippi as well, and not an awful lot done about it.

Teen saved by defibrillator living proof schools need machines

Here's a great piece from the front of today's State newspaper about a little boy whose life was saved because his school had Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) available.

Read the whole article here.

Four out of Five Americans Unaware that Home Fires are the Greatest and Most Common Disaster Threat

Just read this on the national Red Cross site. Everyone thinks the big deal is Hurricanes and Earthquakes, but it's actually home fires. Read the whole piece here.

Less than 100 days until Hurricane Season

Ann Wright says:

There are less than 100 days until the beginning of the 2006 Hurricane Season!

We need Disaster Services volunteers who can serve locally or on national assignment.
If you are interested, please call Amy at 271-8222.

A new disaster volunteer orientation will be held on March 7th from 6-8 p.m. Other upcoming training opportunities include: Damage Assessment workshop (3/2); Emergency Response Vehicle driver training, (3/11); Disaster Mental Health overview (3/14); and Disaster Health Services overview, (3/20). A disaster drill is scheduled for April 1 and a Disaster Readiness exercise and evaluation will be conducted May 7-9.

Alison Tesh writes:

The 2006 American Red Cross HEROES Campaign kick-off luncheon was held Wednesday January 25th at The Peppermill. Thanks to Michael Stathakis for a wonderful lunch. Michael Codgill gave a motivating speech touching on tragedies both national and local he has had the opportunity to experience first hand.

Over 50 people were in attendance. Greenville county schools, banks, businesses, and corporations were all represented and some wonderful events are planned. Stay tuned for more details. If anyone is interested in joining the Campaign, please contact your local Red Cross chapter.