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by AmyFreeze from My Fox Chicago

Last Post 2 days Ago


…Major Hurricane Gustav bearing down on southern Louisiana coast…

 I just returned from a weekend trip to Houston... the entire Gulf Coast is watching Gustav while the cental LA area will bear the brunt of the storm... only clouds and a few sprinkles in Houston this morning... but they are expecting rains from Gustav.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Houston which happened to be the staging area for FEMA and US Border Patrol.  They were deployed late Sunday night into the heart of Louisiana.  The crews I met were search and rescue teams, recovery units, and security teams. 

One FEMA coordinator I talked to emphasized the diffence between the proactive approach to Gustav versus the reactionary response in Katrina.  So many more people are prepared --- from residents to the the emergency managers.... it seems everyone thinks this time the outcome won't be as bad.

The hurricane center is just hours from landfalll... but when Katrina made landfall... the headline was "A City Spared"  it wasn't until hours later we realized the levees had been breached and major flooding was occurring.

If you know someone in the Gulf Coast and they have a story to send in --- or you've talked to them about their experience... post it here and let us know how they are doing.

Meteorologist Amy Freeze

Fox Chicago News

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TutorMentor read my blog view my photos
Sep 8, 2008 | 3:55 PM

Hi Amy,

I have long admired the way TV weather uses maps to show storm patterns, and how the traffic reporters use maps to show traffic.

I encourage you to visit http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com to see how such tools can show poverty neighborhoods , locations of shootings, and/or poorly performing schools. Such maps could draw volunteers to tutor/mentor programs in these areas if they were presented by weather reporters once a month, as part of the news broadast.

I'd like to help you and other TV reporters integrate this into your station strategy. I think the people who do this first will gain new market share because of how they focus on issues many people are concerned about (in addition to traffic and weather).

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AmyFreeze

Amy Freeze does the weeknight forecast on Fox News Chicago.

Member Since: 3/26/2007