Published:
WeatherBug(R) Professional Keeps an Eye on the Skies During Taping of "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" in New Orleans
GERMANTOWN, Md., May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- As the final stop on their 50-
state tour, which airs this Sunday at 7 p.m. EDT on ABC, the "EXTREME
MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" team will surprise the Usea family ofWestwego, LA,
and the Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist Church inNew Orleans, LA, with the news
that they will be rebuilding for two Gulf Coast heroes in just seven days.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070412/AQTH112LOGO )
WeatherBug, a leading provider of live, local weather services, is proud
to have volunteered its services during the taping of the show by donating a
professional-grade weather station and a local team for 24-hour meteorological
support to help monitor current conditions and severe weather alerts from the
WeatherBug Network and National Weather Service throughout the week.
"Weather has a huge impact on construction and remodeling efforts. The
safety benefits are easy to grasp, but what may not be as obvious is that many
businesses can greatly increase efficiency and reduce liability when
forewarned of significant weather events," said Randy Smith, southeast
regional manager and part of the local WeatherBug team inNew Orleans. "We
were there on-site to keep an eye on the skies so the EMHE crew could plan
accordingly if there were any weather concerns, such as rain, high winds or
extreme heat, which could impact the build."
Brad and Laura Usea's home took a nasty beating leaving more than $15,000
in damages from the brutal storm. Not only was their home severely damaged,
but Brad's mother Grace's house was completely destroyed leaving her, Brad's
older brother Chris, and Brad's twin brotherChad all homeless. Then, in
February of 2007, tornados struckWestwego in the middle of the night causing
more devastation to their already fragile home and destroying the FEMA trailer
in the backyard where Chris had been living since the hurricane.
That night, Brad andChad, both volunteer firefighters, came to the rescue
of not just their family, but their neighbors who were trapped in their own
FEMA trailer. Local heroes to many, Brad andChad continue to work to rebuild
their community that has been devastated by natural disasters, while living on
top of each other in a single family home.
In 1998, Pastor Willie Walker came to Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist
Church, who has been serving the needy community inNew Orleans for 60 years.
When Katrina hit, he risked his life by going back to the devastation time and
time again to help rescue hundreds and saved countless lives. When Willie
finally returned to the church, he found it totally destroyed by the flood
waters. For 2 years, Willie continues to work tirelessly to help the victims
of Katrina, but has not been able to rebuild his beloved church.
"Immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit, WeatherBug coordinated with the
Red Cross and other relief organizations and deployed a team to the Gulf Coast
for on-site meteorological support and to restore the nation's damaged weather
network with NOAA's National Weather Service," continued Smith. "It is
fitting that we would have an opportunity to return again to help a community
still on the road to recovery. We are very happy to have played a part in
helping to make the Usea family and Pastor Walker's dreams come true."
About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards
as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is in its 5th season on ABC. The
program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Denise
Cramsey is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of
Endemol USA.
About WeatherBug(R)
WeatherBug (http://weatherbug.com and http://weatherbugprofessional.com)
is a trusted source of dynamic weather information enabling people worldwide
to make more informed weather-related decisions. By combining its proprietary
asset-the world's largest, most dense network of live weather stations and
cameras-with aggregated weather data from around the world, the WeatherBug
Network delivers highly precise weather information for the most accurate,
neighborhood-level weather available. Millions of consumers and professional
organizations, including the National Weather Service, rely on WeatherBug to
make more informed personal and mission critical decisions which safeguard
lives, impact communities and improve business operations. WeatherBug is a
brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. (http://www.aws.com)
SOURCE WeatherBug
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Daily News
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