NATCHEZ &045; Visitors to a disaster preparedness display at the Natchez Mall parking lot Saturday could learn everything from how a police siren works to how to turn off their gas in an emergency.

While the police sirens appealed mainly to the children visiting the displays, the other information was valuable to people of all ages.

Organized by the Red Cross &045; whose volunteers just finished running a shelter for coastal hurricane evacuees &045; the event was designed to provide information, some of it hands-on, about preparing for a disaster.

The timeliness was not lost on participants.

&uot;We’ve had a lot of people express interest&uot; in volunteering, said John Goodrich, executive director of Adams County’s Red Cross chapter.

&uot;It’s not if we have another disaster, it’s when.&uot;

Participants in the event included ambulance companies, the police, fire and sheriff’s departments, Entergy and Mississippi Valley Gas, and the Adams County Civil Defense office.

All handed out brochures and other information on emergency preparedness.

While the crowd was not as large as participants hoped, Goodrich said &uot;it’s been a real community effort.&uot;

Linda Carlton, a nurse who has just begun volunteering with Red Cross, brought her daughter to the event.

Carlton said she was impressed with the Red Cross shelters, where she worked two shifts last week.

&uot;It was just wonderful,&uot; she said. &uot;How they set it up, how fast everything was and the response from the community.&uot;

Many of the people who stayed at the shelters said they were grateful for the aid &045; and promised they would come back under better circumstances, Goodrich said.

Red Cross opened three shelters in Adams County, housing more than 600 people. The first evacuees arrived Wednesday night, and the shelters were closed at 11 a.m. Friday.

Goodrich said helping the evacuees was a &uot;good exercise&uot; &045; but it also showed the biggest weakness, not having enough trained volunteers to man such shelters.