Anyone here live in, or have loved ones in, the areas currently ravaged by storms: Mobile, Jackson, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and of course, New Orleans? If so, i hope they're doing okay. I lived through a big hurricane back in the '80s in Houston, and it ain't no joke. I love violent weather in one way, but having the house you're sheltering in literally shaken by 120 mph winds, seeing a large tree blown apart by a lightning bolt like something from Zeus? Dealing with days of after affects like flooded streets, unsafe drinking water, lack of power and refrigeration, and various critters of all kinds scurrying around in the muck looking for shelter or food? Sitting up in watch at night to make sure looters don't take advantage of total darkness and chaos? Not something I'd care to repeat. Thoughts with you or yours if you're being affected by this.
By the way, if any of you or someone you know are in storm-ravaged areas, how is communication handled? Do people still have access to cell phones to send text messages to friends across the country to say "I'm okay"? I wonder how people nowadays are able to stay in touch when, say, someone in New Orleans has to flee and only has a few moments to send a message, or phone service is spotty? Are there services or sites that help those in disaster areas stay in touch with their loved ones across the country? For example, is there a way for someone in Baton Rouge who for some reason can't reach a relative in New York to use an intermediate service, web site, or person to get a message sent? Maybe text a message to a site or person who would act as a go-between to communicate with people on the other side? I've heard of this social networking thing "Twitter", that's used to send brief (140-word max) messages, and it evidently can be setup to let others see messages. Seems like that' s a way for someone with a cell phone to drop a quick message and make sure several people so designated could later read the message, once the sender's no longer in touch.
