Gulf Coast Web Portal Hopes to Aid in Post-Hurricane Community Information Sharing

Mobile, AL (PRWEB) June 9, 2006 -- Amid the devastation of last year’s record-breaking hurricane season many family members found themselves struggling for weeks to find information about loved ones evacuating the New Orleans and Gulf Port/Biloxi Areas. A few National Registries quickly came online helping people find information on the status of loved ones in the hurricane-damaged regions of Gulf-Coast States.

As the communities began to rebuild, those fortunate enough to have survived with minimum damage began to reach out to neighbors in need in creative ways.

“I remember friends and coworkers actually going to the truck stops near the interstate to find families in need to help and offer a place to stay” says Bill Dodd, creator of Gulfcommunity.com. “I remember thinking to myself that I wished there was a better way to spread the word about the needs of particular families or to share information within the community.”

“Then it occurred to me, I have a community website and many people still have internet access. That night I wrote a module for the site that allowed people to post information about locations where they had found gas to be available “, he recalled.

Gulfcommunity.com was started in early 2004 intended as a site for gulf coast residents to discuss politics, news, events and interests in a forum-style venue. The site now offers free classifieds, job postings, resume listings, entertainment links and feeds from various news sources including the National Hurricane Center for hurricane tracking.

“The site remains very much a grassroots effort in size but offers the flexibility and features of many of the major players with ambitions for much more content. My partners and I hope to raise awareness of the site so that in another post-hurricane situation the community can choose to use it to bring people together and fill needs. The gas station locator is only one option, the forums, blogs and real-time chat can be used in a myriad of ways to share information within the community. The sound-off style posting portion of the site is easily adapted for reporting emergency supplies and services, offering help to neighbors or asking for advice.”

Gulfcommunity.com currently receives a few hundred visitors a day and provides all services free of charge. The site is hosted from a hardened data center and was available through each of the recent hurricanes including Ivan and Katrina.

The website can be reached via http://www.gulfcommunity.com

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