‘Vital to our recovery.’
First responders in Louisiana parishes remain connected thanks to the Verizon Response Team.
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Two areas that were hit especially hard by Hurricane Ida were St. John’s Parish and St. Charles Parish, located southwest of Lake Pontchartrain and west of downtown New Orleans. According to National Public Radio, the communities were two of ten parishes where the electrical grids completely collapsed.
"This is the strongest storm that St. Charles Parish has ever had,” said Samantha De Castro, Communications Director, St. Charles Parish. “It’s comparable to what New Orleans experienced with Katrina."
Fortunately, the Verizon Response Team is known for running to a crisis and Ida was no exception. The team was able to bring in equipment that connected to satellites.
"We’re here at the St. John’s Parish Sheriff’s office, where we’re providing 4G LTE coverage and WiFi for first responders including the Sheriff’s office, Homeland Security and FEMA," said Matthew Brungardt, Verizon Response Crisis Manager.
"The efforts of Verizon are extremely vital to our recovery process because without them we couldn’t get information to our residents," shared Samantha. "What they’re doing is making a huge impact here on the ground."
Matthew summed it up best. "We run to a crisis all the time and we will never stop."
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