Disaster relief discussed Tuesday night

   A crowd of about 25 people gathered in St. James Catholic Church in Washington Tuesday night to discuss how to prepare for and respond to disasters in the county. Those in attendance signed up to be volunteers for what is known as a COAD, or ?Community Organizations Active in Disaster.? The attendees broke up into small groups that sought to tackle one specific aspect of disaster relief or disaster preparedness.

    Larry Smith, emergency management coordinator for Washington and Keokuk counties, said he was pleased to see a diverse group of people at the meeting such as bankers, construction workers, ministers and leaders of volunteer organizations. He said the attendees agreed to have their next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at St. James Church in Washington. He said the group will draft bylaws at the next meeting.

    Smith reminded the crowd that a COAD does not perform the functions of first responders such as paramedics and the fire department.

    ?This is not a committee that gets up in the middle of the night to lay sandbags,? said Smith.

    Karla Mongan, who works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chapter in Cedar Rapids, spoke about how she became interested in disaster relief. Mongan said that she was personally affected by a disaster when floodwaters destroyed her home.

For the full story, see the Jan. 13 edition of The Washington Evening Journal