Need help with shipment for Katrina/Rita relief

[SensualCealy]

I know this shouldnt be on this forum but, you guys are my friends and wont complain too much, (Ill ignore it anyway! lol)

We have a transport, a driver and a load to head to Waveland Mississippi for the 3rd week of October. I know from TV reports the only place still standing is the fire department.

My problem, I havent been able to contact anyone from Waveland to let them know this load of items is coming down.
Any ideas?
Thanks a bunch,
C

 

[Extreme Bohunk]

I know this shouldnt be on this forum but, you guys are my friends and wont complain too much, (Ill ignore it anyway! lol)

We have a transport, a driver and a load to head to Waveland Mississippi for the 3rd week of October. I know from TV reports the only place still standing is the fire department.

My problem, I havent been able to contact anyone from Waveland to let them know this load of items is coming down.
Any ideas?
Thanks a bunch,
C

I'd guess if you PM'ed Linuxgeek, he might have pertinent info,
that guy's a genius on stuff like that.

 

[linuxgeek]

I know this shouldnt be on this forum but, you guys are my friends and wont complain too much, (Ill ignore it anyway! lol)

We have a transport, a driver and a load to head to Waveland Mississippi for the 3rd week of October. I know from TV reports the only place still standing is the fire department.

My problem, I havent been able to contact anyone from Waveland to let them know this load of items is coming down.
Any ideas?
Thanks a bunch,
C

May be able to get useful info from your local Red Cross or Salvation Army. If they can't help, amateur radio route would likely be the next best communications link to an area cut off from landline communications. Your local ARES group would probably be a good starting point. There are couple of message traffic nets specifically for moving relief related messages in & out of the effected areas.

 

[linuxgeek]

I was having a braindonor moment and forgot to mention, if needed, I can see what I can do about passing a message. Lady Christabel is currently home from Red Cross HQ in Montgomery, but some of the people she was working with are still there. Also, I can get on the amateur radio HF message nets myself and start the message on its way.

 

[SensualCealy]

I guess Im at the point of not knowing what to do, I need to either contact Mayor Longo in Waveland, Miss. Or Chief Garcia ( the only one I could think of from the google on Waveland fire departments.) with the Waveland Fire Department.

We will have the shipment ready to leave in about 2 1/2 weeks, the last of the donations come in this weekend.
Any idea if they have any lines up and running there yet?
LinusXgeek, thanks for all the info and your offer of assistance. If you have any ideas please pass them on.
Thanks C

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I guess Im at the point of not knowing what to do, I need to either contact Mayor Longo in Waveland, Miss. Or Chief Garcia ( the only one I could think of from the google on Waveland fire departments.) with the Waveland Fire Department.

We will have the shipment ready to leave in about 2 1/2 weeks, the last of the donations come in this weekend.
Any idea if they have any lines up and running there yet?
LinusXgeek, thanks for all the info and your offer of assistance. If you have any ideas please pass them on.
Thanks C

I believe, you should contact the govenors office. When I was home in Jackson, Gov. Barber was giving daily updates from the city's command center. He had represenatives from all branches of the relief effort onstage with him.

It would seem to me, your best bet. The MEMA reps were in contact by radio with the costal Mayors and relief workers. When I came home, there was no land line communication with any of them up and operational.

 

[linuxgeek]

If you want me to do some poking, PM me what state the shipment will be coming from, organization sending it, and a contact person for the organization.

For your own research and preparations, I'd recommend contacting the Mississippi emergency management office. Considering the location of Waveland, it is likely only residents and cleared aid workers are being allowed into the area.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 4501 - Fondren Station
Jackson, Mississippi 39296-4501
(601) 352-9100
(800) 442-6362 Toll Free
(601) 352-8314 FAX
http://www.mema.state.ms.us
http://www.msema.org/mitigate/mssaferoominit.htm

May also want to directly contact the Mississippi Gulf Coast chapter of the Red Cross.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross
2782 Fernwood Road
Biloxi, MS 39531
(228) 896-4511
Office hours are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday
http://www.redcross-msgc.com/

The Salvation Army HQ which covers Mississippi is another possibility.

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Divisional Headquarters
1450 Riverside Drive
Jackson, MS 39202
Phone 601-969-7560
Fax 601-969-9077
http://www.salvationarmysouth.org/MISS.htm

 

[SensualCealy]

Thanks so much, I wrote down the numbers and email addresses you gave and will call them likely tomorrow.

The shipment is coming from Canada, thats why there is a problem, it has to go through customs and the FDA. We dont have as much as we had hoped but, we still have some.

Im thinking at this point if all we have is a few boxes of books and clothes with the 40 some shoe boxes we did up, we could send it down with someone else. I just wanted it to go directly to Waveland, Miss. Not that sending it to the Red Cross is a bad idea, I just wanted it to be used by the people we picked.
C

 

[linuxgeek]

Even if you do not use one of the NGOs in place to distribute the donations being sent, they may be able to help in being able to tell you what roads are open, where shelters are for the people of Waveland, etc.

 

[linuxgeek]

fyi, they had the NBC anchor reporting from Waveland Wednesday evening. They were broadcasting from downtown and there wasn't a visable building standing from the camera views they used. They didn't say where the people were staying until rebuilding starts.

 

[linuxgeek]

Curious if things are progressing ok.