Hurricane Katrina: I Think This Might Help

Call me crazy but I've been thinking on this for a while.

I like beef jerky. It is good, rich in protein, it comes contained in an airtight, water proof bag and has a good long shelf life. I can carry it around in a back pack and not have to worry about it going bad. Peanut butter is not only good and rich in protein but it can also be stored at room temperature. Raisens, as I've found, have a relatively long shelf life, when packaged properly, and are rich in iron.

People in the devastated areas of the Mississippi and Louisiana are finding communication to be lacking and really don't know where to turn. How does a city communicate when there is no means by which to do so? Where do people go if they don't know where to go?

How can you reach people who are stranded on roof tops surrounded by water, if not by helicopter?

Well, one crazy notion I have had, and my husband thinks I'm crazy, is to package a leaflet with a map of distribution centers with a little battery powered am/fm radio (yes, it has batteries in it) along with a few things that can provide sustinenance and don't require refrigeration - hence the peanut butter, jerky and raisens.... If you wrapped the radio in bubble wrap, packaged these things along with a leaflet of information with maps of relief centers in a plastic bag that was filled with air and sealed then flew over the city and air dropped them, perhaps people would be able to get them, if they landed in water, they would float, be able to get connected to what is happening through a radio, which the towns could use to communicate important information. Police could use the radios, too, to receive information. Wouldn't you still be able to transmit over the airways by radio? One more thing they might consider is including an inflatable inner tube or floatation device of some sort. I know you can get them real cheap and those that can't swim might be encouraged to get into their inner tubes and get to land...

Does that sound ridiculous? Of course, we may be well beyond that at this point but for future disasters, maybe this wouldn't sound nearly as ridiculous.