more Katrina resources (and help needed)

[cellio]

I've made some updates to the resource page for refugees. As I'm sure most people expected, there are gazillions of sites coordinating housing, checkin listings, missing-persons reports, and so on, all uncoordinated with each other. If you can offer programming help for consolidated searches of these sites, go here.

Help maintaining this list is also needed. (Once the holiday weekend is over I'll be busy again.) siderea is going to come up with a way for people to submit changes; right now we're hand-editing HTML but that's just temporary.

Of course, this information is only useful if it can be gotten into the hands of the folks holed up in hotels, stadia, etc. Some people are working on getting local help for that, but there's always room for more. The page contains the text of all URLs so it can be printed and faxed and still be useful.

I've been told that ham-radio operators are working to relay messages, but what I don't know is how J. Random Refugee cgoes about finding a ham operator. Is there a directory?

Comments

[cellio]

As you've discovered, specific information is hard to come by in the press. Here's what I've found so far:

284 Red Cross shelters in: LA, Mis, TX, TN, GA, AL, Ark, MO, FL (94,000 people)
YMCA of Greater Houston
Maddox Field House, Baton Rouge
LSU, Baton Rouge
PMAC, Baton Rouge
Fort Chaffee, Arkansas (4000)
Easthaven Baptist Church, Brookhaven, Miss (250)
Camp Yocona, Toccopola, Mis
Lowry Air Force base. CO (1000)
7 shelters (1100) and several hotels (13,500) in Pensacola, Panama City, Tallahassee FL
unspecified locations, Memphis TN (10,000)
Camp Williams and a shelter in Midvale, UT
D.C. Armory (400)
Killeen Community Center, 2201 W. Veterans Memorial Blvd, Belton TX
Wilson Recreation Center, Belton
First Baptist Church of Belton (100)
Church of Christ, Belton (50)
National Guard facility near Battle Creek, MI (500) (planned)
Fort Custer Training Center, Augusta (1500)
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix

In cases where there's only the name of a city, maybe there's someone in local government who can help, or maybe they're overwhelmed and won't talk to people. (And presumably they won't be talking to anyone until Tuesday.)