Tag Archives: floods

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Franklin Flooding & The Social Web – Continued

Friday May 28 Update: I received a text from Hollie that Extreme Makeover called her today. They had a 15 minute conversation and she was told “you are on our radar.” I’ll keep you posted.

There are many family and friends in the Middle Tennessee area that have lost much as a result of the recent flooding. You can read my original post here.

It has been amazing to watch how literally thousands of people have mobilized to help anywhere and anyway they can. Here is one story out of many.

I literally have a five-minute drive from my home to my office (yes, I probably should walk). On Friday morning I was listening to the radio while the announcer described that Extreme Makeover – Home Edition was looking for people who were impacted by the Nashville floods so they could feature them on the show. Anyone could nominate a deserving family. They gave the ABC.com site and suggested going to Facebook to submit the nomination.

I immediately thought of Nathan and Hollie. Karen and I first met this couple in our church’s new members class. We realized that we have known Hollie’s parents for many years through our involvement with Young Life. We struck up a friendship.

I went to the ABC.com site but could not find the correct information. I did find their Facebook Fan page, which listed how to submit a nomination.

My wife Karen is a wonderful writer, but was in Colorado at the funeral for a close family friend over the weekend. The nominations were due on Monday. She just did not have the time to put something together. I contacted a pastor (and friend) at our church to see if he could help put something together. Mike sent my request to Angela Fox, a member who is also a writer.

Angela put together a compelling nomination for Nathan and Hollie!

Click on this link and read Angela’s Open Letter to Extreme Makeover – Home Edition

I am doing everything I can to raise this family’s visibility to the producers of this show. E-mails, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter – all will be used. I have no idea what the results will be, but I will keep you informed.

What can you do to help? Simply pass this story along in any way you can. Thanks.

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Hurricane Flood Threat Data Available to Public

The National Hurricane Center and Google are working together to create a map that homeowners can use to determine if their property is threatened by a dangerous hurricane storm surge.

Storm surge is considered one of the most destructive elements of a hurricane and the greatest threat to the lives of people who ignore evacuation orders in vulnerable coastal areas. Google will use storm surge data that meteorologists have used for years to determine the flooding threat from any category of storm.

People can plug in their addresses to see at what level they are at risk. The program should be available during the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Hurricane forecasters use a computerized model called SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) that estimates storm surge heights by taking into account the size, internal pressure, forward speed, track, and wind strength of a hurricane.

Hurricane forecasters will also offer a new color-coded graphic on the NHC Web site this year that will indicate storm surge probabilities for threatened areas, similar to forecasts they now offer on wind-speed probabilities. The graphic will indicate the probability of the surge reaching or exceeding five feet within a given number of hours.