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Hurricane Danny Clips Southeast Louisiana

Between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, a slow moving hurricane Danny clipped Southeast Louisiana. As the eye wall moved just south of Grand Isle, La on an east, northeast track across the towns of Buras and Venice, winds were clocked at 82 MPH in gust. During the height of the storm, tides rose 4 feet above normal flooding low laying areas as hurricane force winds and tornadoes destroyed mobile homes and a marina. The marina was hardest hit when a tornado sank or destroyed most of the shrimping fleet.

On Sunday, the American Red Cross began Relief Operations and Damage Assessment of the areas, however, the 800 Mhz began to fail the Red Cross due to being low on priority in the State Communications system. ARES members from Orleans, Jefferson, St.Charles and St. Tammany Parishes setup communications between Red Cross Headquarters in New Orleans, and units on Grand Isle 80 miles to the south.

By using a duel band mobile radio, KB5OZE - Mike Decossas, strapped a mobile antenna to a pipe, placing it some 18 feet in the air. This allowed hand held and other low powered radios on the isle to cross-band through the mobile to hit a repeater in Thibodaux, La.

Although this was not the best means of communicating, it did accomplish the task. However, this should serve as a warning to all in Disaster Services to make plans, and hold readiness drills now. Don't wait until your organization is needed to see what you can truly do.

There are a few things you can do now to be ready when a disaster strike.

1. Develop your organizations disaster plans.

2. Coordinate with other organizations so everyone knows what you can or can not do.

3. Hold drills to test the limit of your equipment and resources

4. Make sure your people are trained and informed

Karen E. Johansen - KC5FCU
Jefferson Parish Emergency Coordinator
karen@fhpc.com
Received via the ares@ares.org email distribution list.

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