| Now, before going to the phone, people are looking on the web. I think in the long run, this is going to save us time and money. | |
| Alison Davis, North Carolina Division of Coastal Management |
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The Internet is often touted as one of the most powerful tools in the modern world, but figuring out how to utilize this new technology can be intimidating. The recent assault by Hurricane Bonnie convinced coastal managers in North Carolina that the buzz about web sites isn't all hype.
"People wanted to know what was happening," said Alison Davis, public information officer for the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management. "The immediacy of the Internet is great. We were able to give the public and the news media important information over the web."
Hurricane Bonnie, a category three storm, came ashore at Wilmington, North Carolina on August 26. The division's web site had only been up since July. As the storm approached the east coast, Davis "tried to think of what information we could put out."
They first took text from a brochure the agency produced after Hurricane Fran struck North Carolina two years ago. "We just changed the Fran to Bonnie," she said. Later they added news releases, a toll free number for building information, and links to related sites. "Part way through we started adding 'Notes from the Field' from representatives who were out evaluating damage," she said. "It was kind of fun."
Producing the web site in the first place was less fun, Davis said. "It took me eight months to put it together. It was definitely a learning experience."
She said before starting the page, she "spent a lot of time looking at other sites and determining what worked and what didn't." One of the problems Davis noted was "sites that threw in the kitchen sink where you have to scroll forever to find the information you want. We wanted to quickly give people a good idea of what we do, and provide information on current issues."
Working "20 minutes here, 20 minutes there," Davis determined how she wanted the site to look and what the general categories of information would be. Most of the text came from existing brochures about the program. "If you have a document that's easy to read and easy to follow, it should translate pretty easily to the Internet," she said. A co-worker who works with computers designed the entry page, created the category "buttons," and put the site on-line.
"People, more and more, are Internet-oriented," Davis said. "Now, before going to the phone, people are looking on the web. I think in the long run, this is going to save us time and money. We're still learning how powerful it can be."
The home page for the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management is found at http://dcm2.ehnr. state.nc.us/. For more information on how the division developed the site, call Alison Davis at (919) 715-7357, or e-mail her at alison_davis@mail.enr.state.nc.us. To view other coastal zone management sites, point your browser at http://www.ocrm.nos.noaa.gov/czm/czmsitelist.html.
