For six days I stood watch by the phone and email waiting for news from my wife's sister and her husband who live on the gulf coast in Biloxi. They are the Jones's

Saturday afternoon I received a call from the Biloxi Police department. The officer stated that the Jones's were receiving medical attention at a Wal-Mart store. Later a weak call on an almost dead cell phone told me that they were OK but had lost everything including their home and automobiles.

It all started Sunday evening when my wife Nancy called her sister to ask if they were planning to evacuate. Their house had stood through hurricane Camille and they were not worried. Having a house full of beloved pets not welcome in shelters they were planning to stay in their home and "ride out the storm". However at our insistences they promised to leave if the storm became a category five. By then the traffic was backed up and they expressed concerns of running out of fuel in the traffic jam.

Monday morning I knew The Jones's were in trouble. My west central Alabama home was without power. By late afternoon I was beginning to wonder if I too might be in trouble. I fell asleep around 10:00 PM when the winds began to calm and the tornado warnings were receding. Thanks to the Alabama Power Company I woke up Tuesday morning with lights TV and a microwave. The power was on and I was jubilant. After hurricane Ivan my power was off for 5 days. Dennis kept it off for 3 days. This was a piece of cake.

On Tuesday the first order of the day was to assess damages. To my surprise I had less damage than I had experienced with Ivan or Dennis The roof was OK this time. There were only a few limbs and twigs around the yard. We then turned our attention to the welfare of the Jones's and some cousins who live near New Orleans.

At first it was an exercise in hand wringing but I soon obtained the phone number of the Red Cross Information hotline and the Mississippi EMA. The lines were swamped and it was obvious they were not ready for the task at hand. I set the numbers on speed dial and tried ringing them unsuccessfully throughout the day. Nancy spent most of the day watched the news hoping to get a glimpse of her sister on camera. With the resources at hand not much else could be done. I spent most of the day on the telephone and the internet contacting relatives and searching for resource. I spent my spare time watching the travesty unfold in New Orleans .

Wednesday and Thursday came and went without any success. Thursday there were internet sites springing up with missing person's bulletin boards. All the radio and TV programs were broadcasting the internet addresses. Well-meaning friends and relatives were redundantly calling to point me to them. It didn't take long to realize there were so many that they defeated their own purpose. It was much like the proverbial haystack. I concentrated only on the ones I considered to be most relevant and the ones most likely to be seen locally. By Thursday evening I had the Jones's listed on more than a half dozen website databases.

Friday morning things began to happen. Some phone services were restored to Biloxi. The Red Cross had set up additional phones for help in locating loved ones. I was able to contact the US Coast Guard, the Biloxi Police Department and the Biloxi Regional Medical Center. The Coast Guard and the Police Department promised to dispatch help and the Medical Center did not have any record of the Jones's.

By then I had set up an email newsletter to keep friends and relatives apprised of the situation and progress. I was updating it hourly throughout the day. Early in the morning I found that the Red Cross and the MS EMA had set up their own missing persons data base and I jumped on them. My biggest challenge was in keeping Nancy from going to Biloxi. Her emotions were running high and she was willing to take on the National Guard.

On Saturday we had done all we could and there was nothing left but to wait out a very long morning. As time went by our hopes were fading. I felt that if the Jones's were able they would have found a way to call by now. When the call came I saw on the caller ID that it was from Biloxi and was almost afraid to answer it.

Now it is Saturday afternoon. We know that they are alive. Our concern now is of their comfort. We are waiting for another phone call to find out what they need from us. As an added bonus all the cousins have reported in.

Tonight we will sleep and tomorrow we will start the rest of our lives with a new appreciation for life itself.

About the Author

Howard Watkins is a retired Master Electrician and presently the Webmaster and editor of http://brassmein.com A consruction industry information website.