Morning Tornado Briefing: Moving Forward
The city has ceased daily updates, and new information is slowing down. As we mentioned earlier this week, we will move to a weekly digest of tornado news next week.
We’ve crammed a lot of information in the two weeks of daily briefings, and if you’re looking for how to report outages to utilities, or where to donate for various fundraisers, you can page through all of them here. All of our tornado coverage can be found here.
Follow City Clean-Up Efforts
If you’re curious about the progress city crews are making clearing debris, the city has provided a map that is being regularly updated.
The map, located here, is updated throughout the day, until 8 p.m. each day.
Red Cross Geo Mapping of Damage Follows Tornado Path
Now that things are slowing down a bit when it comes to news from the city, we’re starting to take a look at other sources. The local Red Cross has been working at the city’s Multi-Agency Resource Center, and before that the Bachman Recreation Center respite center, but this post on the agency’s blog showed an interesting map.
The Red Cross developed a mobile app, RC Collect, to help its disaster assessment teams deliver services more efficiently.
“Using RC Collect, Disaster Assessment teams use their phones and geo-tagging to mark each home and the type of damage the home has suffered,” the blog said. “Major damage is indicated by significant structural damage to a resident that requires extensive repairs. This may include substantial failure of the roof, walls or foundation.”
“A residence that is destroyed is one that is a total loss or with damage so extensive that repairs is not feasible,” it continued. “Disaster Assessment workers can also designate if homes sustained minor damage or were affected by the storm.”
That data is uploaded into a program that then collates all that pertinent information into information the agency needs to decide how to best serve the affected area.
More Preston-Royal Business News, Plus Important Partners Card News
Yesterday evening, Interabang Books representatives announced that they had secured a lease on a temporary space at the Pavilion on Lovers Lane, located at 5600 West Lovers Lane.
Toy Maven representatives announced they would be moving to Preston and Forest soon, too, and TJ’s Seafood representatives said they would open at 10 a.m. today. Dougherty’s Pharmacy is open and running as well.
In addition, North Haven Gardens continues to assess, clean up, and prepare to open back up. North Haven Gardens marketing and advertising manager Alexis Patterson emailed yesterday afternoon to let us know that their Survivor’s Sale will happen next weekend from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 8-10. The store has also updated its website with a blog to help keep customers abreast of their progress.
In an email to Partner’s Card purchasers, organizers said that many of the merchants located at the heavily-damaged intersection had agreed to extend the use of the card through November 10 at the Preston-Royal locations only.
The Partner’s Card ends on Nov. 3 everywhere else.
Merchants extending the card include Ballard Designs, Chico’s, Cousin Earl, Dougherty’s Pharmacy, Kasart, Ken’s Man’s Shop, Lily Rain, Pure Barre, Relax the Back, Roam Fine Goods, and Sur La Table. Toy Maven will also extend the card until Nov. 10 as soon as its new location is open, and AOI Home, located at 1030 Dragon Street, will also extend the card as it was closed for some time due to the storm.
Interabang will also take the Partners Card through its website if you register the card online first. You can also use it at the other locations for stores like Sample House, Hollywood Feed, and Mattress Firm through Nov. 3.
Thomas Jefferson Alumni Host Fundraiser
The Thomas Jefferson High School Alumni Association is hosting a fundraiser tonight from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at A Step Up Lounge, located at 3720 Walnut Hill Lane.
The group will be collecting coats, blankets, hygiene products, non-perishable food items, and gift cards in $10 increments for food (grocery stores and restaurants).
The event will feature live music from fellow alum Cactus Finger.
