Communicating a Catastrophe

As Katrina’s toll worsens, how do you let someone know on the other side of the planet that their home is lost?

Images of devastation: houses turned to stick piles, overturned big rigs slammed into tottering hotel lobbies, millions of people homeless – many of them needing rescue from rising waters…sights all too familiar following the horrendous tsunami just eight months ago. But now the disaster is not in a far away place on the other side of the world. It’s hit close to home, striking one of the most uniquely beautiful, historic cities in North America.

OK. So we’re all watching the round-the-clock news coverage. But what if you are one of the people directly impacted? What if you are on vacation when this happens – in a remote area with limited telecommunication access – in fact, very close to where the tsunami struck? How would you get information about your home, your pets, your friends and family? Where would you go for help?

A good friend of mine is in this awful predicament. And I wish there was something I could do to help. We’ve exchanged a few emails – he’s carrying his Blackberry, so gets some information. He’s keeping a positive attitude and hoping by the time he and his wife return in two weeks that waters in New Orleans have subsided, allowing them to begin recovery.

I can’t even imagine what it would be like to face the possible loss of everything I own. And then there are the increasing health risks that are coming up by the hour.

Scary stuff. Since I can’t get on a plane or in a car to head to the area and help (bailing water?), I’ve followed my heart and the urgings of many responsible citizens and donated to the Red Cross. They are attempting to save lives, provide shelter and take care of people’s basic needs. Looks like we need a Live Aid event of our own – to save New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Now that I live near Atlanta, _maybe I’ll write to fellow sometime-citizen Elton John to see if he’ll organize a charity concert. Or keep urging y’all to make your own donations. Do whatever you can.
Donna