After a disaster, when first responders aren’t able to communicate with each other and the public cannot communicate with them, there’s a feeling of hopelessness and anxiety that in this technological day and age we seldom feel. In part, that is why one island organization – the Boca Grande Disaster Relief Fund – has stepped up to make an initial donation of $50,000 to an island committee in charge of purchasing and implementing a new emergency operations/communications system that will be vital to our island.

There is hope that other island organizations will donate as well to help the committee reach their goal, which is a fluid number at this time – somewhere around $270,000. 

The need for this type of technology became apparent after Hurricanes Irma and Ian, as Irma created a situation in which communications and cell phone failure took place sporadically up and down the Gulf Coast. Ian was worse, obviously. Not only did the island lose its cell tower, but also there was the realization  that this one lone tower was serving us for just about the entire signal we had. If a tower goes down on the mainland, one might get a signal here and there – sometimes even a clear one – by repositioning and triangulation of other cell phone towers in the area, but we do not have that luxury here.