Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC)

With an active spring storm season in progress, and above average hurricane season on the horizon, establishing an emergency alert system for your household is important. Tornado sirens can fail, and there's no guarantee you will receive notifications via cell phones. Having a weather radio in your home helps ensure you will be notified of severe weather approaching your area. In partnership with AWS, ITDRC has distributed thousands of weather radios to communities recovering from disaster, including Barnsdall, OK #CommIsAid

Regions 6 & 7 have had an eventful week across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Iowa. Ongoing support and unmet needs assessments continue as many towns remain without power. #CommIsAid

Storms knocked out power across the Greater Houston Area late last week, leaving close to a million homes and businesses without power at its peak. We've deployed WiFi Hotspots and cell phone charging stations at more than 3 dozen locations across the region. #CommIsAid

Storms knocked out power across the Greater Houston Area late last week, leaving close to a million homes and businesses without power at its peak. We've deployed WiFi Hotspots and cell phone charging stations at more than 3 dozen locations across the region. #CommIsAid

Our Region 4 Team is supporting distribution sites in Tallahassee after 2 EF-2 tornadoes and 1 EF-1 tornado caused widespread damage with 100 mph straight- line wind just days ago. While Florida works to reconnect residents without power, ITDRC will continue to support communications as needed #CommIsAid

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT: "Volunteering is the backbone behind every successful disaster response or event. No matter what level of training, when a community comes together with a common goal, it is amazing what we can accomplish. I have witnessed this volunteer spirit many times during my career with search and rescue, radio communications, medical reserves, etc... I'm thankful for the opportunity to give back, and grateful for the thousands of hours given by volunteers" - Michael W. Region 6

Our crews have been on the road this month learning and sharing best practices for emergency communications -- most recently at a CISA Spring Training & Exercise in Denver. While most people know April as tax season, those in the disaster community know it as #NationalEmergencyCommunicationsMonth #CommIsAid

A severe weather outbreak over the weekend saw more than 50 tornadoes confirmed and 88 tornado reports made to the NWS. ITDRC has mobilized and initiated recovery operations across the heartland, with ops in Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma #TornadoOutbreak #CommIsAid

The Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC) was founded in 2008 to provide communities with the technical resources necessary to continue operations and begin recovery after a disaster. Having wi-fi and cellular connectivity after a disaster is critical to responders and survivors, ITDRC steps in many ways to ensure communities have the critical resources to continue operations. ITDRC is a newer partner to VA VOAD, but they have been a national VOAD partner for many years and have provided direct support for public safety, survivors, and community recovery after the Maui Wildfires, Hurricane Idalia, the 2022 Kentucky floods and many more. Thank you ITDRC for being a resource our communities can rely on!

There is no "one size fits all" approach to emergency communications; particularly in dense forest locations. Last week our Region 3 team spent time with the Roanoke County Fire Rescue Department in VA testing different equipment to support their Wilderness Search and Rescue missions. #CommIsAid