By Stephen Maloney
The CityBusiness North Shore Report
SLIDELL, La. — The city of Slidell has joined the online social networking world, but instead of reconnecting with long lost friends, city officials are preparing for the next major hurricane.
When Hurricane Katrina swept through the eastern portion of St. Tammany Parish in 2005, it decimated most of Slidell and cut off nearly all forms of communication. At a recent hurricane planning meeting, Slidell Mayor Ben Morris said that will not happen again.
“I have no way to send magic messages out to all of the citizens in the event of a disaster,” Morris said. “But we are going to do the best that we can with the technology that we have access to. “
That technology includes the popular online video site YouTube, social networking sites such as Facebook and the online messaging service Twitter, Slidell director of cultural and public affairs Kim Bergeron says.
Along with bolstered existing communications systems, the city is using as much technology as possible to ensure lines of communication stay open this hurricane season, Bergeron says
National cable outlets like CNN proved unreliable sources of local information after Katrina, dedicating most broadcasts to the Lower Ninth Ward with only a few spare minutes covering Slidell, Bergeron says.
“With YouTube, we are basically creating our own TV station,” she says. “Our first responders will all be equipped with video cameras so they can shoot video of exactly what the damage is and post it online. No matter where you are in the United States, you will be able to see what’s going on in Slidell as long as you have Internet access. “
Morris says most major hotels and motels provide computer access, as do libraries and other businesses, allowing virtually anyone to stay connected to the Internet during an evacuation.
Twitter, which allows users to leave 140-character messages, can be a valuable tool to get the word out about developments in the aftermath of a storm, Bergeron says.
She says the city already posts frequent public service messages and updates about events, but those posts will shift to damage reports and road closure updates in the event of an emergency.
Morris, who confessed to lacking experience with modern technology, says that decidedly old-school technology will also be used.
“I don’t have a ‘facepage’ site or whatever, but we will be using whatever we can to get the word out,” Morris said at the hurricane preparation meeting in May. “I am ham radio qualified along with 11 other people on my staff, so we will be on the radio, too. “
St. Tammany Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Operations Center director Dexter Accardo says information about the entire parish will be more readily available in the wake of a major storm this hurricane season.
“We are working with WWL radio to block out a period of time each hour to discuss St. Tammany,” he says. “It may only be five minutes, but you’ll know to tune in at a specific time each hour to hear updates. “
While most of this year’s communication updates rely on technology most readily accessed by people familiar with current computer technology, Accardo says everyone everywhere will have access to the radio.
“You can pick up that AM signal in three quarters of the United States, so everyone can stay informed,” he says.
Accardo says a bank of toll-free telephone numbers will also be active to disseminate information.
Slidell Police Chief Freddy Drennan says his officers, along with fire departments, hospitals and emergency medical technicians across the parish, have improved communications systems since Katrina and can now stay in touch no matter what happens.
Morris says the communications systems and other technological methods of dispersing information aren’t perfect, but are much better than what was available in 2005.
“We don’t have all the solutions to the communications problems, but we have a lot more than we had for Katrina,” Morris says. “We will try to get as much information out there as we possibly can.”
Copyright 2009 Dolan Media Newswires