Local FEMA worker prepared for third crisis in recent weeks.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), October, 2005 | by McCoppin, Robert

Byline: Robert McCoppin Daily Herald Staff Writer Al Cobble is taking a short break between hurricanes. Two days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Cobble flew to Louisiana to help direct federal emergency relief. While he was there, Hurricane Rita hit, and he was literally swamped with new work to do.

Having just returned home to Park Ridge after seven weeks in the destruction zone, he expects to be off to Florida this week to respond to Hurricane Wilma. Cobble knows the area well, having spent time there last year through four hurricanes. Cobble goes where he's needed as an on-call division supervisor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "I'm the eyes and ears of the world when I first come in," he said. "You collect information and try to put...