John's Pass Hurricane Preparedness Expo Information
Get Storm Ready at John’s Pass Hurricane Preparedness Expo
Get your hurricane know-how at the John Pass Hurricane Preparedness Expo taking place at John’s PassVillage June 13th and 14th.
Speak with hurricane preparedness experts, get the latest information on protecting your home and see how low power radio systems can provide critical communications after a catastrophic disaster. Visitors can meet representatives from vendors and local stores such as Lowes to learn what they need to weather the season – and get valuable coupons to help them finish their hurricane preparations.
"The Pinellas County Communications Department is helping to raise awareness through its website www.pinellascounty.org, where residents can find valuable information on ways they can prepare their families, pets and loved ones for a storm, said Mary Burrell, operations manager. "You can register online for special needs shelters and pet shelters and watch webcasts on your computer to become more knowledgeable on everything from gathering the supplies you need and what to do after the storm passes." Mary Burrell will also be speaking at the hurricane preparedness expo at John’s Pass.
“There are two things you can be pretty much be assured of after a hurricane, there is no power and there is no wireless communications.” said Larry Karisny, Director of local not for profit ProjectSafety.org. ProjectSafety is focused in offering survivable wireless communication networks for first responders. “Our intent at the Hurricane Preparedness Expo is to give a real world look at what technologies are available that can even survive the tremendous destructive power of a category five hurricane.”
This expo features some of the newest communication technologies and how these technologies can survive before, during and after a hurricane. Independently powered wireless radios from Bluemont Networks and independently powered sensors and cameras from St. Petersburg’s Voda LLC will use these technologies to live video stream the entire event on the Internet.
"Our low powered radios can run off a truck battery for weeks after a hurricane", said Bryan Paulk CEO of Bluemont Networks. "We are strategically placing these hurricane survivable radios on hotels roof tops along the beaches. We have learned from Hurricane Katrina that low powered wireless radios may be the only way to communicate after the storm."
“Voda is pleased to be a sponsor for the John’s Pass Hurricane Preparedness Expo. Our outdoor sensor network products are designed with harsh environments in mind and hurricanes certainly fit that description.” says David Fries, CEO of Voda LLC in St Petersburg. “The imaging and chemical sensors and drop-in broadband communication network solutions offered by Voda would greatly enhance the ability of first responders to monitor conditions and share live field data during acrisis situation.”
City of Madeira Beach District 1 Commissioner Terry Lister where John’s Pass Village is located said ” these municipal wireless networks are not only important for our first responders, they are a critical requirement for people coordinating supply logistics, insurance adjusters putting in claims and just your average citizen coming back. The longer it takes to get these operations in place the longer it will take us to rebuild. We need to of course to prepare before a hurricane but we also need to think about what we need to do after a hurricane. We can’t rebuild unless we have a way to communicate. “
The air condition expo tent will be open Saturday from 12:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. John’s PassVillage is located at 150 John's Pass Boardwalk, MadeiraBeach on the Intracoastal waterfront between Treasure Island and MadeiraBeach. The pirates’ invasion and hurricane preparedness presentations will be video streamed live on the Internet at http://www.johnspass.com/. Admission to the expo is free.
