MIAMI – After Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans, Matt Callmeyer struggled to call his wife, who had evacuated.

“I had to drive to Baton Rouge to get cell phone service,” said the City of New Orleans emergency responder. He felt lucky that he knew where she was.

Other residents were rescued from their roofs or bused to shelters in different states.

“People already had the stress of losing a residence,” Callmeyer said. “So they didn’t need the added strain of not knowing where family members were.”

South Florida residents, who are expecting 17 named storms this hurricane season, and their families around the nation may have a new way to find loved ones after emergencies.

The American Red Cross has recently developed a Web site that may help, SafeandWell.org.

The site, which recently launched, allows relatives and friends to figure out if a loved one is safe by typing in a name and phone number or address.

To use the service, a person can register at SafeandWell.org before a storm hits and then update his or her status afterward. Automated messages such as “I’m in a shelter” or “I am safe and well” will appear on the site under the person’s name when a relative does a search.

“It’s not a foolproof system,” said Tom McFadden, spokesman for the Red Cross. “But it’s another piece that should be helpful in a family’s communication plan during a disaster.”

Callmeyer said that would have been a huge help after Katrina.

“If I was evacuated to an emergency shelter, that would be a huge help,” Callmeyer said. “That would make people less anxious, knowing where their family members are.”

The only hitch is the resident needs to have Internet access or phone service – which hurricanes can interrupt for days – to update his or her status.

Paige Cauthron, Broward County’s director of emergency and volunteer services for the Red Cross, said all 12 county evacuation shelters have computers and Internet access that may be available after the storm.

McFadden said he’s not expecting a huge wave of registration until about 72 hours before a disaster because it’s not essential to do so before then.

“It only takes about a minute,” he said. “And updating your status is not difficult.”

The site could be of special importance to Broward County’s retirees whose families reside in other states.

“It’s all about getting the word out so people know about it beforehand,” Cauthron said.

McFadden stressed that people should have a communication plan already in place in cases of emergency.

This will be the first hurricane season that the site will be in use, McFadden said, so there may be some things about the site that can be improved in the future. “We’ll just have to go through a season and see.”

HOW TO USE THE SITE

-1. Register at www.safeandwell.org before a hurricane.

-2. After the storm, return to the website or call a friend or relative outside the storm area and ask them to update your information.

-3. Loved ones will be able to call the Red Cross or type your name and address into the website to see your latest update.

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(c) 2007, The Miami Herald.

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ARCHIVE PHOTOS on MCT Direct (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): HURRICANE KATRINA

AP-NY-06-16-07 1544EDT