I am okay. Hattiesburg is in shambles. I'm on battery power on an old laptop in Brookhaven now. Phones and water here but no power. No services at all in Hattiesburg. I went to check on my house but couldn't really get any information. No radio stations were on the air. Cell phone service is down too. If you don't hear from people in South Mississippi, it's just because there is no way to make contact with the outside world. The biggest problem in Hattiesburg, though, is from fallen trees. I think people are mostly okay. There is just a ton of property damage. I haven't heard from anyone south of Hattiesburg yet. God help them.
Sharon, I'm so relieved that you have been able to get through the storm. I understand that there has been no communication with Mississippi Gulf Coast, Pearl River, Meridian, or Southwest. And, according to the Mississippi Virtual website, Hinds, Holmes, and Co-Lin are closed until Tuesday, September 6.
Please know that there are TYCA members all over the country who are praying and sending donations to the relief agencies.
I know that your first priority is to stay safe and care for family. As recovery progresses, know that you are not alone. We'll do all we can to support you and your campuses through the recovery.
Thank you so much. Unfortunately, I have no information. I have not even been able to find out how my own campus fared or what kind of estimate they've been able to make on getting back to school. So many roads are still clogged with fallen trees and power lines that it is nearly impossible to get to some of these places. Until they get the cell phone towers back up, there will probably be no way of finding out how people are doing. If I find out anything about our two-year campuses here in Mississippi, though, I will post it here.
Hi Sharon I got your link via Mike E at Vitia.org. I'm a NOLA girl but my parents evacuated as far as Laurel MS so I am relieved to at least read a little news from your site. We also have a house in Picayune, MS but something tells me that is gone too.
Daisy, your family should be okay in Laurel. There are a lot of trees down, but I think people are mostly safe there if somewhat uncomfortable. Things are slowly evolving into a degree of normalcy. We got a generator today, so life if looking up considerably. I have still been unable to contact friends and family in Laurel and Hattiesburg, but people coming from that area say things are getting better by the day. I heard one estimate of schools in that area being back in operation by September 12. That would be very good news indeed.
Thanks for the info Sharon. They've been found and our house in Picayune is fine. Seems like they are going to try to make their way to me in FL but I am worried about the gas situation. We'll see I guess...
There is no gas here. I am getting frantic to get enough gas to get back to Hattiesburg to rescue my pets, but there are long lines in places where people are only hoping a gas truck might show up. Not only do we have all of the stranded refugees around, everyone is also trying to get gas for generators, and most service stations are still without power. It's a mess. If they can get enough to get out of Mississippi, though, they should make it.
One new update on the school situation here. The Hattiesburg American is reporting that Jones County Junior College (my employer) is closed indefinitely. I have no idea what that means. USM is supposed to go back on the 12th.
We got power at my mother's house today, so things are looking up considerably. It could still be quite some time before I can go home to Hattiesburg or before I have a job to return to, but we are feeling very lucky over here.
I know that most of you have been watching TV all of this time I've been cut off, and you probably understand more of the "big picture" than I do, but I wonder how well people out there understand just how widespread the damage is.
Columbia/Hattiesburg/Laurel were hit with a Category 3 hurricane. Those inland towns look the way you might expect a coastal disaster area to look after a bad storm. As far in as Jackson and even up toward Tupelo there is considerable damage.
Life is returning to some degree of normalcy in most of the state now, but the entire southern tip of the state--including Hattiesburg--is far from normal. I don't even know where to begin.
If I have information, or if I manage to process this enough to know what to say, I will post it here.
11 comments:
Sharon: I realize you probably don't/won't have power for a while (weeks?), but we're thinking about you.
I am okay. Hattiesburg is in shambles. I'm on battery power on an old laptop in Brookhaven now. Phones and water here but no power. No services at all in Hattiesburg. I went to check on my house but couldn't really get any information. No radio stations were on the air. Cell phone service is down too. If you don't hear from people in South Mississippi, it's just because there is no way to make contact with the outside world. The biggest problem in Hattiesburg, though, is from fallen trees. I think people are mostly okay. There is just a ton of property damage. I haven't heard from anyone south of Hattiesburg yet. God help them.
Glad to hear you're OK.
Sharon, I'm so relieved that you have been able to get through the storm. I understand that there has been no communication with Mississippi Gulf Coast, Pearl River, Meridian, or Southwest. And, according to the Mississippi Virtual website, Hinds, Holmes, and Co-Lin are closed until Tuesday, September 6.
Please know that there are TYCA members all over the country who are praying and sending donations to the relief agencies.
I know that your first priority is to stay safe and care for family. As recovery progresses, know that you are not alone. We'll do all we can to support you and your campuses through the recovery.
Sharon Mitchler
National TYCA chair
Thank you so much. Unfortunately, I have no information. I have not even been able to find out how my own campus fared or what kind of estimate they've been able to make on getting back to school. So many roads are still clogged with fallen trees and power lines that it is nearly impossible to get to some of these places. Until they get the cell phone towers back up, there will probably be no way of finding out how people are doing. If I find out anything about our two-year campuses here in Mississippi, though, I will post it here.
Hi Sharon
I got your link via Mike E at Vitia.org. I'm a NOLA girl but my parents evacuated as far as Laurel MS so I am relieved to at least read a little news from your site. We also have a house in Picayune, MS but something tells me that is gone too.
I'm writing over at http://dpignett.blog.usf.edu/
Best wishes, Daisy
Daisy, your family should be okay in Laurel. There are a lot of trees down, but I think people are mostly safe there if somewhat uncomfortable. Things are slowly evolving into a degree of normalcy. We got a generator today, so life if looking up considerably. I have still been unable to contact friends and family in Laurel and Hattiesburg, but people coming from that area say things are getting better by the day. I heard one estimate of schools in that area being back in operation by September 12. That would be very good news indeed.
Try www.hattiesburgamerican.com for information about Laurel.
Thanks for the info Sharon. They've been found and our house in Picayune is fine. Seems like they are going to try to make their way to me in FL but I am worried about the gas situation. We'll see I guess...
There is no gas here. I am getting frantic to get enough gas to get back to Hattiesburg to rescue my pets, but there are long lines in places where people are only hoping a gas truck might show up. Not only do we have all of the stranded refugees around, everyone is also trying to get gas for generators, and most service stations are still without power. It's a mess. If they can get enough to get out of Mississippi, though, they should make it.
One new update on the school situation here. The Hattiesburg American is reporting that Jones County Junior College (my employer) is closed indefinitely. I have no idea what that means. USM is supposed to go back on the 12th.
We got power at my mother's house today, so things are looking up considerably. It could still be quite some time before I can go home to Hattiesburg or before I have a job to return to, but we are feeling very lucky over here.
I know that most of you have been watching TV all of this time I've been cut off, and you probably understand more of the "big picture" than I do, but I wonder how well people out there understand just how widespread the damage is.
Columbia/Hattiesburg/Laurel were hit with a Category 3 hurricane. Those inland towns look the way you might expect a coastal disaster area to look after a bad storm. As far in as Jackson and even up toward Tupelo there is considerable damage.
Life is returning to some degree of normalcy in most of the state now, but the entire southern tip of the state--including Hattiesburg--is far from normal. I don't even know where to begin.
If I have information, or if I manage to process this enough to know what to say, I will post it here.
Thanks for all of the concern and offers to help.
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