Dear FML'ers: At 9:32AM EDT, Thursday 24 September 1998. Chere McCoy, Director of Ferret Friends Disaster Response International (FFDRI) took the FFDRI to Disaster Alert status for the state of Florida. This alert could be upgraded to DISASTER RESPONSE or downgraded to Disaster Watch at any time in the next 24-48 hours. Please be aware that there are NUMEROUS Ferret Shelters in the state of Florida. The largest is the Miami Ferret Shelter. Reports from them indicate they have evacuated all the ferrets to a concrete/steel reinforced building. They have plenty of supplies. Last E-mail from them indicated they were still trying to locate a generator in case they lost power. Since this particular shelter was the one that was hit by Hurricane ANDREW in 1992 - they know what they are in for and they ARE PREPARED! There are two projections for Hurricane Georges. The most likely is to come off the coast of Cuba, enter the keys and the track along the West Coast of Florida. The second is to come of the coast of Cuba, enter the keys and track along the East Coast of Florida. So ALL shelters in the state of Florida should already have their disaster plans activated. For current updates: PLEASE visit the FFDRI Web Site at: http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~ferretma/ffdri1.html The site takes a while to load but please stick with it!!! Should Chere McCoy loose power and phone lines you will still be able to leave a message at her phone (561)-567-0994. She or the Web Master will be able to access the messages an respond. On a very fine NOTE: Amy Dempsey and her 9 ferrets (they were hit by Hurricane Georges when it crossed St. Croix) are O.K. Although power and most phones lines are still out she managed to get a message through. She has a generator and reports they are all O.K. Status in other parts of the world. We are STILL on DISASTER RESPONSE for Big Spring, TX. But due to the RESPONSE of all people in the FFDRI, we may be able to take them to WATCH status by this coming Monday. May all the Children of Fur, Feathers, Scales, Shells and Hooves be SAFE Chere McCoy Director, Ferret Friends Disaster Response International [Posted in FML issue 2442]