It is now two months since Hurricane Ian.
I wanted to give you an update, and also show how my Disaster Services Technology / IT (DST team) aids in the Recovery phase of our mission!
We are now 65 days into our formal Disaster Relief Effort. The initial activities were Sheltering, Feeding, and Disaster Emergency supplies all part of our response to the Hurricane.
The magnitude of the response is illustrated by the fact that this is the largest Disaster Assessment activity in The American Red Cross history, having surveyed more than 200,000 homes.In that survey we found over
22,000 homes that were Major Damage / Destroyed.
*_Overview – by the numbers_*
52,300 overnight shelter stays
Over 70 shelters
1.7M Meals and snacks served
Dozens of Emergency Response vehicles still on the job
404,000 Disaster Emergency Supplies
3,100 trained Red Cross Disaster workers supported
*_Response -> Recovery_*
Response activities were prolonged by a curve that nature threw us in the form of Hurricane Nicole, extending sheltering and other response activities.
While response activities like Feeding continue in the most damaged areas, the focus of our mission has shifted to client services.
ERVs line up in Estero FL Kitchen to load up with hot meals\.
So, our shift is to client service, but we are covering a broad area – we do that in two ways – Mobile Outreach, and Service Centers.
The Registration Desk for one of 8 Service Centers opened yesterday\.
Yesterday there were 8 Fixed Centers and 5 Mobile outreach teams.
_*How does my team - Disaster Services Technology help?*_
Robert Richards, DST supervisor from Sam Houston Territory, is on deployment currently on the DR.I thought it would be helpful to follow him around as he sets up a service center in Daytona Florida.
Working with the government, we establish and publish service center locations like this one.
Step one is to establish network connectivity.In this case we are going to use a Starlink Satellite system.We use a ladder to the roof and belay a ground station from the roof:
We stabilize a Starlink dish to the roof with sandbag to protect from the wind and use this vent pipe for strain relief on the cable.
Pointing is accomplished via Cell phone app or laptop.
The cable was run through the wall and via the drop ceiling tiles.
Next step is to set up networking and printer.In the corner you can see a printer.Behind it is the ground station controller for the Starlink (just for set up, it does not quite have the umph for a service center). Also a higher performance wireless router for the WiFi network and a limited number of ethernet wired ports.We set out laptops for the client services folks so they can access Red Cross CAREs system for client services. This allows them to access Damage Assessment Information, provide client services, and referrals to other charitable and government organizations that may be able to help meet disaster needs.Client services can include emergency $s to help jump start recovery, medical needs, mental health needs, and spiritual care.
Details on assistance for Hurricane Ian are here: https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief/hurricane-relief/hurricane-ian-relief/hurricane-ian-assistance.html
Robert was the “ranger” here solving problems and providing technical support while his mobile team went on to set up other service centers.Note that Gaffers tape is used to make sure all wires are not a trip hazard for volunteers or clients.
Meanwhile External Relations teams are working with government partners to identify the next series of high priority sites for service centers.Elizabeth Briand, the current job director, says that momentum is building.Based on the number of homes affected, the job will probably continue through the holidays and into next year, before it can be transitioned to long-term recovery.
Best/73
Kevin KF5FUZ
LeadDisaster Services Technology Tactical Winlink TXRCHOU-DST
Digivol / @KF5FUZ <https://twitter.com/KF5FUZ> TXRCAUS-DST
Operations: IT Partner
American Red Cross <https://www.redcross.org/>
<https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html>
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