RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—As part of a total of $300,000 provided by the North Carolina Community Foundation and North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, UNC-TV is set to receive a $25,000 grant for the purpose of developing short-form, multiplatform videos on storm preparedness, as well as the production of short-form field reports after storms.

The funds are meant to support information and public engagement following the events of Hurricane Florence that hit the area in September 2018. Including UNC-TV, more than $180,000 in grants were given to organizations and initiatives that deal with news and information related to hurricane recovery in eastern North Carolina.

“Utilizing our statewide broadcast platform and reach to provide critical information about emergency services and relief efforts during times of natural disasters is in keeping with our vision to be a vital, indispensable service and partner to all North Carolinians,” said Travis Mitchell, UNC-TV’s senior director and chief content officer. “This grant will help us create content about storm preparedness, as well as provide response coverage after a storm to aid the on-going recovery efforts in impacted areas.”

COWS and COLTS and Goats, oh my! No Dorothy, this isn’t Oz. It’s the Carolinas and Georgia as Hurricane Florence bore down on its way to landfall.

An interesting article by Angela Moscaritolo in PC Magazine online, “How Mobile Carriers Are Responding to Hurricane Florence,” described the steps carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile were taking to prepare for the aftermath of the hurricane.

She wrote: “…Verizon said it’s readying a fleet of mobile equipment—including Cells on Wheels (COWS), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTS), and generators on a trailer (Goats)—which can be rolled into hard-hit areas in need of extra network capacity.” The other carriers were taking similar steps, the article said.

According to the FCC report on outages as of this writing (Sept. 18), 4.1 percent of cell sites in affected counties in Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina were out of service. That’s down from 10.7 percent on Sept. 15, which is impressive. However, 30 or more percent remained down as of Sept. 18 in North Carolina’s Columbus, Onslow and Pender counties.

No doubt COWS, COLTS and Goats were being used to breach the gap in coverage.

But what will happen in a 5G world where massive MIMO antennas are deployed throughout the nation affixed to telephone poles and other structures numbering in the hundreds of thousands or more?

Even though the damage wrought on the cell sites in the areas affected by Florence was minimal compared to other storms, such as Super Storm Sandy, 670,000 people in North Carolina and 59,000 in South Carolina were left in the dark according to a Newsweek story citing Duke Energy as of Sept. 16. It’s hard to imagine how COWS, COLTS and Goats could possibly help in a 5G world with so many antennas.

Of course, there will be no magic switch thrown that abruptly changes over cell infrastructure and consumer phones from 4G to 5G. A transition will take place during which a power outage created by a calamity may take down large swaths of 5G antennas, but 4G service and dual radio phones will remain.

But what about that time beyond the transition when 4G service has all but evaporated?

Fortunately for the public, broadcasters will remain on the air distributing critical lifesaving information during emergencies. According to the FCC damage report, 42 of 45 TV stations reporting remained on the air in the wake of the storm. Nearly one million more residents in the Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh areas tuned into local newscasts on broadcast TV stations the week of the storm than the previous week as Hurricane Florence approached the East Coast and made landfall in the Carolinas, according to data from ratings measurement service Nielsen.

Imagine how much better stations could serve the public during future hurricanes and other dangers if cell phones were equipped with ATSC 3.0 receivers that fully support enhanced warnings delivered via AWARN.

One can only hope that wireless companies and broadcasters put aside turf wars for the sake of public safety, or in the absence of magnanimity, that regulators take the needed steps to enhance emergency communications nationwide by one day mandating 3.0 receivers in wireless handsets.

The Wheatstone factory in New Bern, N.C., officially reopened Wednesday, a few days after Hurricane Florence tore through the region.

“The factory is open, and our building and its contents weathered the storm completely unscathed,” Wheatstone Systems Engineer/Webmaster Scott Johnson reported via email. “As far as we can tell, the building never even lost power.”

He explained, “Our building is a high, reinforced concrete structure with a relatively new, well-maintained roof. it sits on a reinforced concrete foundation. Our power comes via an underground, redundant ‘loop feed’ to a padmount transformer, and that feed has been pretty rugged. Our Internet connectivity, which is via dark fiber to a communications nexus nearby, is also fully operational.”

[Read: Industry Groups Stations Prep for Storm]

Johnson estimates that 60% of the manufacturer’s staff also returned to work, with more expected to return Thursday. Some of the areas surrounding the factory are still experiencing flooding, and the rivers near New Bern are predicted to actually crest in the coming days, so some closed roads may continue to present problems. Additionally, some employees evacuated ahead of the storm but have been unable to return due to the closures.

Although the factory fared well, many in New Bern were not so lucky. The city and surrounding Craven County are still operating under emergency declarations, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are on site helping those affected by the storm and its aftermath.

New Bern, After Hurricane Florence

Scott Johnson shares photos illustrating some of the damage the storm caused

Several Wheatstone employees have reported damage to their property — at least one house and one roof were lost to Hurricane Florence. Many others, including Johnson, were without power for days.

Johnson wrote Wednesday, “Most of the folks here have ridden out at least one hurricane since they’ve been here, and the message I’ve gotten from each of them is the same: They have neverseen anything like this.”

In an earlier email to RW Editor in Chief Paul McLane, Johnson wrote, “We’re reeling here, but it’s a strong, resilient town, and we’ve got a great, can-do group of Wheaties. We’ll bounce back.”

HIGH POINT, NC--As the southeast region, and in particular the coastal communities of North Carolina and South Carolina begin the long road to recovery from the devastating effects of hurricane Florence, Tribune Broadcasting’s FOX8/WGHP, will hold an in-studio telethon Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., to aid in the recovery effort.

All money pledged during the 13-hour phone bank will be processed by the Salvation Army’s national headquarters and distributed to the areas of greatest need.

“We are in a time of dire need, and the people of North Carolina need to come together as one. Now, more than ever, our neighbors need our help.” said FOX8/WGHP General Manager, Jim Himes.

The 13-hour in-studio telethon will be staffed by Salvation Army volunteers, FOX8 staff members, and various community leaders. FOX8 will also use the power of its nearly 800,000 Facebook fans to spread the message on social media, and will link directly to the Salvation Army’s donation page on its own website, www.myfox8.com.