If you are searching for a missing person, here are a few hotlines to help you in your search:

• FirstGov.gov: This site is a portal of various search engines specific to people evacuated from the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina
• Red Cross: This is a direct link, but you can also access it by visiting the “Family Links Registry” on RedCross.org to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants.

Additional information for specific states is listed below:

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This is a follow-up to our post on how to give funds to the State of Mississippi. The State of Louisiana has set up a website about Hurricane Katrina with information about recovery efforts, as well as a link to give to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation.

According to ComputerWorld, most of the major cell phone carriers are now working at some capacity in New Orleans. T-Mobile seems to have the strongest coverage, while Verizon and Cingular are both rolling out mobile cell sites to boost coverage and capacity. Sprint, apparently, is struggling.

The carriers are encouraging users in the area to communicate via text message. Text messages are sent in short bursts and don’t require the bandwith of voice calls.

President Bush has been personally engaged with Katrina recovery efforts these last few days. You can read or watch his weekly radio address from this morning at the White House website. Also, the White House has created a section on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, with valuable links including one to the USA Freedom Corps site.

Several people have started blogs on the Hurricane, the aftermath, and the relief efforts. Here are a few. We’ll add a blogroll shortly to keep a running list.

• Hurricane Katrina: A very helpful collection of stories and links, mostly emergency information for people trying to find a lost relative.
• Katrina Housing & Transportion Resources
• Hurricane Watch: a compelling collection of photos from the region
• HurricAid

NOAA.gov has posted a series of arial photographs of the damage, however the site is not very usable. Here are a couple of shortcuts:

• NOS Data Explorer: This is an interactive map with links to images of Katrina. When you get to the first page, type "Katrina" in the keyword box. You’ll see a bunch of red dots appear over the Gulf Coast. Take your mouse and highlight this area, the map will zoom in. There are tools at the top to use to zoom and move around as well. When you get to a place where you want to see the actual pictures, click on the "Link to Data" button at the top.
• Hurricane Katrina NOAA Images: This page has several zip files of photos that you can download to your computer of areas hit by the hurricane.

If there’s one thing people in DC can do, that’s throw a party. And most of the time, said parties will go to a good cause. This one is going to a great cause.

The State Societies of Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida will host a fundraising reception to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday, September 7 at the Jones Day Building (311 First St, NW) from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. It’s $20 per ticket and funds will go to the Red Cross. If you are in Washington, please try to make it out.

It appears that, according to this article, for the time being volunteers are being urged to show patience. However, as we mentioned in the previous post, by taking the steps to go through training now, you can be prepared to help once the areas are opened up and the infrastructure is more stable.

If you are interested in volunteering to actually go the Gulf Coast and help with recovery efforts, it’s not too late. The American Red Cross suggests that you contact their local chapter in Alexandria at alexandriaredcross.org. According to their site, the best person to contact there is Christine Hutchinson at 703-549-8300 ext. 215. In order to volunteer with the local chapter you need to fill out their online Volunteer Sign-Up Form then attend an orientation session.

Another key place to look for volunteer opportunities is online at VolunteerMatch.org. Here you can enter your zip code and interest areas, and they will match you with opportunities that may fit your skills.

if you can’t get through to these sites the first time keep trying. They are obviously experiencing a lot more traffic than usual…

The State of Mississippi has set up a fund to help with hurricane recover efforts. The address to send checks only is:

Office of the Governor
Attn. Hurricane Fund
PO Box 139
Jackson, MS 39201
Make checks out to "Mississippi Hurricane Fund"

Additionally, here is a list of emergency relief organizations accepting donations now. A few of these overlap with the Network for Good’s site.

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