Getting ready for Ida

[Andy Carvin]

So it looks like we're going to get a hurricane after all this season. Ida is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast near the Alabama/Florida border late Monday or early Tuesday. I've already started updating the feeds on the homepage to aggregate Ida-related information, but there are still some tasks to be done.

Most importantly, we need to update the wiki: http://hurricanewiki.org. We need volunteers to review the wiki section by section and make sure that there are resources collected for Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Much of this was done last year but it can't hurt to be sure it's up to date. If you plan to work on a section of the wiki, please let us know which one.

Next, we need to identify useful Twitter accounts so I can begin aggregating them using the new Twitter Lists feature. If you come across any useful Twitter accounts related to Ida - local news accounts, weather spotters, volunteers, local orgs, etc - please add them to the wiki here:

http://www.hurricanewiki.org/wiki/Twitter_Resources

I'll work on putting together a Twitter list with all the accounts we pull together.

Lastly, if there are any other online volunteer duties you can tackle in the next 48 hours, please speak up now and spell out what you can do, and if you need other volunteers to accomplish it.

thanks,
andy
@acarvin

[Daniel Mosqueda]

Andy,

I'm pretty up on things. However, there is a chance I'll be evac'd out of Biloxi. I'll know much more tomorrow.

Dan

[Andy Carvin]

Stay safe, Dan. I'll be following what's going on in MS through my colleagues at Mississippi Public Broadcasting; they're mobilizing as well.

Daniel Mosqueda said:

Andy,

I'm pretty up on things. However, there is a chance I'll be evac'd out of Biloxi. I'll know much more tomorrow.

Dan

[Judi B]

I am in Fort Walton Beach where we are expected to be very close to landfall. I have a backup generator, so should be able to maintain power and be in touch as long as internet is still up.

[Lucie Joyce]

I can help in anyway
Email me!

[e-mail]

[Andy Carvin]

Hi Lucie,

Thanks for the offer, but please be more specific. The way this works is volunteers have to explain what they're able to work on. For example, someone might say they're going to update the wiki page that focuses on what animal shelters will remain open in a given state. The volunteer work is decentralized, so if you could tell us what you're capable of doing, that'll help others suggest what you should do specifically.

Lucie Joyce said:

I can help in anyway
Email me!

[e-mail]

[Brenda Mihalik]

If you'll point me in the right direction I'll do whatever I can to help. I'm located just north of Pensacola. I'm hoping we don't lose power because our generator hasn't been used since Hurricane Ivan. So if I can help someone please let me know. Email is [e-mail].

[Kathy Stershic]

I live in California but own property in Florida so am very tuned into the hurricane threat. I have bandwidth to help however needed, working on a wiki, doing some research on sites or services that may be available for people who may be affected by the storm, making phone calls. Good luck and god bless.

[Brad Banner]

John Walling did a good job of getting Shelters, local government resources, and local media resources updated which seemed to be the most important things. I pitched in with a new url here and there. Right now I am working on adding Florida local governement sites. I'll sort them out by Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast, and Inland and by county as I get time. Right now it is mostly Florida Keys and Panhandle counties and cities that are directly on the Gulf. I;m doing that to be ready for future storms. I'll go to coastal counties in all the states at some time or another and others are most welcome to pitch in. How far up the east coast should we go?

As an aside, did you notice all the spam forum categories here? Ick!