Much like we saw during the power outages on the east coast back in 2003, many people are turning to different technologies not only to find out what is going on with the hurricane aftermath, but also to try and get in touch with missing loved ones. As many of you already know, communication is very spotty in many parts of the south right now. Many people are taking matters into their own hands by utilizing services such as craigslist in order to locate lost family members. As you can see from the long, long list of posts here, folks from all over are opening up their homes and their hearts to those in need; in addition to looking for lost loved ones. It is truly amazing to see…

Posts such as this one where a company is offering employment for those who are now out of work really make you stop and think. Other posts still show that people are willing to open up their homes to complete strangers. As I type this, I sometimes have to stop for a moment as I am so taken back by the decency that I am seeing during the course of the storm’s aftermath. I have to say that for me, it is nice to see something good come out of this horrible situation.

Moving on. Besides using the Internet as a communication tool, people have also been dependent on it for much of their news information as well. Utilizing a combination of services such as Yahoo! News’ storm videos from the AP and even amateur coverage from services such as Hurricane Now, video footage like what can be seen here have helped people to pull their heads out of the sand and show them that many people are in real trouble right now. Video is a very powerful thing and in many cases, the stuff coming from video bloggers can be just as moving as images seen on the television news.

In regards to keeping tabs on the weather itself, you can see things in a more scientific view thanks in part to WeatherBug’s and the NOAA’s mapping systems (click the map images to zoom in). You do not need any software to use these services outside of a Web browser. While you can certainly retrieve this information from the NOAA if you prefer, the mapping provided by WeatherBug is, quite frankly, a lot more detailed and easier to read. But I wanted to present you with both options; use what you wish.

As days turn into weeks and the media coverage moves on from this to other things like the growing energy crisis, I predict that there will be a lot of infrastructure rebuilding in addition to the standard cleanup efforts. I am also willing to bet that there will be a lot of people from our own industry that are out of work right now, and quite frankly, probably feeling pretty overwhelmed. If you run or work for a company that could possibly hire displaced IT workers affected by this event, please contact me at matt@lockergnome.com

While it may seem like a long shot to many readers right now, I am already seeing businesses opening up their doors to folks in their perspective industries now displaced by this disaster. If you would like to be among these businesses wanting to help, please contact me. I will work with you to put everyone in touch with one another.