Harvey Recovery A Reality

• Believe it or not, the sun came out in parts of Houston yesterday. Despite that literal ray of sunshine, recovery efforts will continue indefinitely as the floodwaters from the former Hurricane Harvey continue to affect a massive area of Texas and Louisiana. Leslie Whittle, PD of Cumulus Top 40 KRBE/Houston reports that, while some rescues are still happening, Houston is definitely entering the recovery phase of this effort. In the meantime, KRBE’s live and local storm coverage continues. Whittle said, “The whole crew is at the station, so Kevin Quinn, Freddy Cruz, Corinna Delgado and Phoenix (who have all been on the air since Sunday morning), are finally able to get some rest. At one time, we had over 600 reported areas of significant high water around the city, so of course one of the biggest services we continue to provide are road closure/high water updates at least twice an hour. We remain focused on keeping our listeners safe and informed, and I couldn’t be more proud of the job the entire KRBE team has done serving our great community.”

Whittle added, “One bright spot came from Coldplay’s concert in Miami Monday night, where they performed ‘Dreaming of Houston.’ It’s a song dedicated to our entire region during this time of devastation. We began playing it Tuesday and the response has been enormous. As we begin to recover, we continue to ask for the continued prayers and assistance from our fellow broadcasters.”

• And the relief efforts stretched all the way to Chicago, where, according to veteran Windy City media maven, Robert Feder, over 30 Chicago area radio stations joined forces yesterday to promote relief efforts — a one-minute PSA urging support for American Red Cross activities in Houston and the Gulf Coast aired simultaneously across AM and FM frequencies yesterday at 4:29pm local time. “We urge all Chicagoans to contribute to the relief efforts that are so desperately needed,” said Matt Scarano, Chairman of Radio Broadcasters of Chicagoland, which coordinated the effort. “We are using the power of radio in both English and Spanish to help out those in need. In a time of crisis, Chicago radio is willing to help in any way we can.”