With Florida veterinarians and horse owners anticipating the arrival of Hurricane Ivan and still struggling with power outages caused by hurricanes Charley and Frances, the American Association of Equine Practitioners'(AAEP) Foundation has donated $3,000 to help supply area veterinarians with satellite telephones. Satellite phone capability will ensure communication between area veterinarians, members of veterinary management assistant teams deployed to the area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local law enforcement.

“While any communication during an actual hurricane is often impossible, the real difficulty is during the aftermath when there is no power to cell phone towers,” explained Dana Zimmel, DVM, Florida emergency communication contact for the AAEP’s Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Committee and an assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. “Satellite phones are often our only communication link to the hardest hit areas.”

Early assessments following hurricanes Charley and Frances indicated that while most of the state’s horses were relatively unharmed, the ongoing flooding and a lack of drinking water due to the loss of power to wells was a concern. Many farms continue to be without power.

With the anticipation of Hurricane Ivan and the potential for Tropical Storm Jeanne to reach Florida, the satellite phones will improve communication in these areas of impact as well. “The Florida state veterinarian has asked us to gather a team of veterinarians, vet techs, and students to man a command post in Defuniak, Fla., after Ivan passes. We will be using the phones there or passing them on to practitioners in those areas to use as needed,” said Zimmel