ERV
Heading back to the Gulf Coast - BILOXI,
MISSISSIPPI
I will be heading to Biloxi, Mississippi on
Wednesday. This time around I am going to work the ERV. I will be
helping to feed people along the immediate coastline of Mississippi.
ERV
This is the location of Biloxi (see below) - damage there is extensive and severe. Very little is left along the immediate coastline. The storm surge in Biloxi was devastating.
LOCATION OF BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI
New Orleans is to the west and then Biloxi is on the coast near
Gulfport.
More information on the damage in Biloxi
http://www.mississippiheritage.com/HurricaneKatrina.html
Wednesday - October 12, 2005
I leave out on Friday for the Gulf Coast. My understanding is that I will be staying at the military base in Gulfport- Biloxi.
imagine...Sharing
all the world
Imagine there's no
heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
CATASTROPHIC EARTHQUAKE
7.7 Magnitude - largest in a century for that region
The Kashmir Earthquake
REUTERS PHOTOS FROM THE QUAKE AREA
Pakistan Earthquake
A cry for help
Pakistan - millions homeless - whole
towns reduced
to rubble
Pakistan - rescue workers continue to search for
survivors amid the ruins.
-------------------------
AVIAN FLU UPDATE
Colombian authorities said on Monday they had detected the
1st suspected cases of bird flu in the South American
country, but insisted the strain was not harmful to humans.
Avian influenza was discovered in chickens at 3 farms in
Tolima state in western Colombia, and the affected flocks
were immediately quarantined to prevent the spread of the
disease, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
There was no sign, however, of the H5N1 strain of bird flu
that experts fear could mutate to become a dangerous human
virus, the ministry said.
Tests will now be carried out on chickens across the country
to check for the virus, [the ministry also] said.
H5N1 has swept through poultry populations in Asia since
2003, infecting 116 people and killing 60, mostly poultry
workers, and resulting in the deaths of more than 100
million birds.
Pro-Med
-------------------------
Canada helping the United States with hurricane relief :)
WINTER IN COLORADO :) :) :) :) OH MY! I CAN ONLY DREAM!
WELCOME TO FALL 2005! Summit County, Colorado
reposted from EasternUSwx.
Think snow...think snow......think
snow.................think snow......................think snow!
These are the teams and the money that has been turned in already!
1. First Hero -
Grandma Blanche $1000.00
2. Team Justice
- $0.00
3. Team
America
- $270.00
4.
Shadow Angels -
$300.00
5. Team Canada
- $100.00 (holding a benefit in
November and money was given for the hurricane already)
6. Team Reds
- $377.26
7. Team Birmingham - $0.00
8. Team Murray - $291.00
Total raised so far - $2338.26 of our $8000.00 goal
Friday, October 14th
I am heading out today. I will be flying from Paducah to Memphis and then from Memphis to Mobile, Alabama. From Mobile I will be driven to Biloxi, Mississippi.
FRIDAY NIGHT
I made it to Mobile - finally. The plane was delayed for hours in Memphis because of the heavy rains in the Northeast. HORRIBLE flooding up that way. Looks like there has been a tremendous amount of damage to homes and infrastructure. Some places have had well over a foot of rain over the past week. Bad deal for New England.
I am staying at a hotel tonight in Mobile and then I leave for Mississippi in the morning. That is the plan at least. I am supposed to report to Biloxi. :) We shall see how this all works out. Time for bed now!
SATURDAY - OCTOBER 15, 2005
I can received email at beaudodson@hotmail.com ONLY - not USAWX.COM
I AM IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI! I made it here earlier this morning. I am staying at the Naval Base in Gulfport, Mississippi. Gulfport is located right next to Biloxi (same in the one basically).
The Red Cross, FEMA, firemen, police, and U.S. Forest Service are all located in this complex. The shelter is made up of three large warehouses. We have satellite internet available. The showers are located on tractor trailer trucks. Apparently these showers are what they take out to forest fires and use for the firemen and forest service guys. There are 1500 of us in this shelter - all are individuals who are working the disaster. It is basically a large camp.
They have 8 dolphins here on the base that were rescued out of the Gulf of Mexico. The dolphins used to live in an aquarium near here. The hurricane destroyed that and they were swept out to sea. They were rescued a few days after the hurricane hit.
The Red Cross has serviced 115,000 families in this area of Mississippi. There have been $119 million dollars in disbursements given out to hurricane victims across this area of Mississippi as well. We have 8 shelters open near here. 88 ERVs are on the roads everyday. There are between 30 and 50,000 meals served daily. This continues to be a very large operation. It is now entering the recovery phase.
There are hundreds of people that are staying on their property in tents. They don't want to leave.
WILMA IS FORMING IN THE CARIBBEAN - THIS COULD
BECOME A LARGE HURRICANE AND MOVE TOWARDS THE GULF OF MEXICO DURING THE NEXT FEW
DAYS.
WTNT34 KNHC 152137
TCPAT4
BULLETIN TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-FOUR ADVISORY NUMBER 1
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 5 PM EDT SAT OCT 15 2005 ... ...TROPICAL
DEPRESSION FORMS IN THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA...
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH MAYBE REQUIRED FOR FOR GRAND
CAYMAN LATER TONIGHT.
ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THERE COULD BE A DANGEROUS
HURRICANE IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA IN THE NEXT 3 TO 5 DAYS.
HOWEVER...BOTH GENESIS AND INTENSIFICATION ARE HIGHLY UNCERTAIN. ALL INTERESTS
IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THE DEVELOPING
CYCLONE.
PHOTOGRAPHS THAT I TOOK THIS AFTERNOON IN BILOXI,
MISSISSIPPI
Red Cross Headquarters in Biloxi - this is about a quarter
of it.
Outside the headquarters
Headquarters
This is my home for the next two weeks :)
There are no words for the destruction down here. There is literally
nothing left along the coast - it has been wiped clean. There are many
places that you would not even realize buildings stood. It is an
incredible site.
Gulfport
Block after block of destruction
Along the coast of the city...
Church
This used to be where houses stood - everything has been scraped
Destroyed cars near the coast
The power of the ocean....
Lots of work to do down here. Volunteers
continue to pour in from around the world. There are literally people here
from all over!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Long day :) Woke up at 4 a.m. :) a bit too early...but heh. It is a bit strange sleeping here. I had a good rest though. They have big fans inside the warehouse so that helps you sleep.
I tried to figure how many days and weeks I have been working this disaster either through the Red Cross and or my foundation - I believe this is about week 8 and day 52 and then shave off about six days or so from that. From Houston shelters to Kentucky Shelters and now Biloxi and Gulfport shelters and feeding operations. This has been one long hurricane season. We won't even count Dennis.
I went out on the ERV for the first time! I had a great time. The people were friendly and very appreciative of everything we are doing. We fed a lot of families with kids and a few workers. We also made a stop at the humane society. They have been sleeping in tents outside of that facility - they are taking good care of the animals. The people in Mississippi are amazing. They have that heart of gold and American Spirit to boot! Lot of American Flags are flying on peoples property. This is an obvious sign that these people are determined to get their lives back in order. It was cool to see Halloween decorations in peoples yards where trees were down and portions of their roofs were missing. Another sign that they are trying to get back to normal - at least for their kids.
Ton of damage here but the people are pushing forward. Good stuff.
All eyes are turning towards what will soon be Wilma. The depression is still located in the Caribbean. Models are starting to bring this system towards Mississippi and Alabama. Hopefully it will go somewhere else. Anywhere else for that matter would be nice.
A few photographs from today :)
Some of the 44 ERVs that are being used in this
area. Outside of a Baptist
Church here in Biloxi.
1149 MY FIRST ERV :) :) :)
This is me with the ERV :) I was with a team of three people. One of
them was
from Kennebunk, Maine - one was from Prince Edward Island and one was
from Fort Lauderdale. Nice crew and very nice people! I was happy to
have
a Canadian on board!!!!!!
Loading the ERV - getting ready to feed
people.
We fed over 300 people today on our ERV! Thousands are fed daily from the ERVs.
This is where they prepare some of the meals
A meeting before they send out some of the ERV
crews.
Out in the field - ton of tree and house damage in the
area we were at.
I didn't take pictures of the houses or anything.
All in all it was a great day down here in Biloxi. It was actually chilly
this morning before the sun came up. I was impressed by that. I
figured it would be warm and muggy. The afternoon was warm but nothing too
severe! Nice weather certainly helps make things easier on everyone.
Lots of photographs on this page so
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MAILING ADDRESS
BEAU DODSON
465 Ashcreek Road
Paducah, Kentucky
42001
-
Phone Number
Home 270-554-6715
Cell 270-970-1202
Email beaudodson@hotmail.com
