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Katrina-Inspired Disaster Preparedness Program To Launch In Western Mass.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Paul Tuthill
Published August 26, 2015 at 4:31 PM EDT
American Red Cross

A national disaster preparedness program is coming to western Massachusetts to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The Pillowcase Project, inspired by the sight of  Katrina evacuees carrying their belongings in pillowcases, is offered in elementary schools and after-school programs.  Mary Nathan of the western Massachusetts Chapter of the Red Cross said 3rd - 5th graders lean about hazards, how to prepare for emergencies, and coping skills.

Program participants are given pillowcases they can decorate and personalize and use to hold to emergency supplies. 

A course is being offered this Saturday – the 10th anniversary of Katrina – at the Red Cross chapter headquarters in Springfield.

1on1Nathan_edit.mp3
Listen to an interview with Mary Nathan, Disaster Program Manager for the American Red Cross of Western Massachusetts.

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New England News Hurricane Katrina
Paul Tuthill
The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
See stories by Paul Tuthill
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