It is frustrating on both sides. Many people just want to lend a hand in any way they can, while many of the response agencies just don't know what they need help with to get the job done. Of course this is not the whole story. Public Works and ASPA employees for example, have been working relentessly to get roads cleared, debris removed, and power restored. Some local residents are cooking meals for people that have lost everything and others are amassing stockpiles of clothes to get distributed for those that need them.
NPS efforts today turned to getting our offices cleaned and a temporary administration office set up. Everyone has been lending a hand, from shoveling mud and debris to salvaging paperwork and electronics. Everyone is pitching in. That's Mike, our superintendent, throwing boxes down the chain to get the items efficiently down from the second floor offices and out to the awaiting trucks.
Before ending today, Mike got the entire crew of around 50 people pizza. Thanks Mike. Before eating we had a debriefing about the day. Peter thought it was an opportune time for a photo. I thought it was an opportune time for a shot of Peter. He just can't seem to get what to do with a car. First, he parks his car in the second story of the adjacent building; next he's using a truck as a step stool. Silly Peter.
We got the essentials moved over to our makeshift temporary offices today. I spent most of the afternoon as the IT guy wiring network cables and getting computers set up. Too bad we just had a professional IT guy down here a week ago to do this in our Pago Plaza office. Sorry Andy, I gutted the upstairs office to pillage what I needed to get the park up and running again. Maybe Yellowstone can send you back out.Since we basically finished off with the visitor center today, most of the crews are heading out to the some of the outer villages to assist in the clean-up efforts. Several of the villages that we lease land from (and where many of our work crews are from) were hit hard by the tsunami. Getting the guys out there should provide some much needed assistance right where it is needed. The staff and work crews of the National Park should be proud of their efforts so far.
Thanks to everyone who has asked how they can help and offered assistance. People in pay grades well above mine will certainly make decisions to let you know how you can help soon. In the meantime, be patient, everyone in the territory is a little busy right now.
2 comments:
hello Brown family. Thanks for these dispatches. We are getting very little news stateside. I am writing on behalf of The Armchair Traveler, a program of the Radio Reading Service produced in Worcester, MA. We provide informational programming to blind and visually impaired audiences, and this year have been presenting NPS sites. American Samoa is special to the Armchair Traveler crew, because it was the topic of our first broadcast in 2001.
I wanted to let you know that your posts have been very meaningful in producing our Oct 3rd program, which will air tomorrow, esp the "how you can help" information.
perhaps you can hear us online where you are.
Please tell the NPS family and the people of AS how much we care for them. We hope that this message can spark some New England support. We know how vulnerable natural disasters can make a community.
God bless, Robin J Sitten, producer, Armchair Traveler. audiojournal.net
Hi, Brown family. This is Superintendent Mike's sister. Thanks very much for the updates and photos, especially the one with him in it, proving that he really is still in one piece. I'm so sorry for all the losses everyone has suffered, and very proud of the National Park community for the way they have pulled together to help in the aftermath. One of these days I will be out there to visit you all. --Lisa
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