Area News



+ Amateur Radio Operators Active during Severe Tornado Breakout in Northwestern Ohio

During the early overnight hours of Saturday, June 5 through Sunday, June 6, 2010; 
severe weather and tornadoes ripped across an area of Northwestern Ohio, 
laying a large path of destruction. ARES and SKYWARN groups in Erie, Huron, 
Sandusky and Wood Counties activated nets as early as 10:30 PM Saturday, 
with many not standing down until 4:30 AM the next day. 

According to ARRL Ohio Section Manager Frank Piper, KI8GW, traffic on the nets was 
filled with reports of severe weather damage, flooding and downed power lines. 
Read more: 
http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-operators-active-during-severe-tornado-breakout-in-northwestern-ohio

==>Oregon Dust Storms Response MAY 3, 2010

In Oregon, three separate SKYWARN net activations occurred on May 3. 
The activations were requested by the National Weather Service in Pendleton. 
During the morning, the Pendleton office issued Dust Storm Warnings 
and High Wind Warnings for a large portion of its County Warning Area (CWA).
SKYWARN nets were activated on two-meter repeaters (one repeater 
in eastern Washington and two repeaters in eastern Oregon). 
Alan Polan, KE4TRR, maintained communications between NWS-Pendleton 
and the SKYWARN net control stations that operated the nets in 
Yakima County and in Deschutes County via the repeaters. 
Polan used EchoLink to communicate with the net in Deschutes 
County on the 147.360 MHz repeater via the Bend EchoLink node 
repeater and the Umatilla EchoLink node repeater. 

Measured wind gusts of 40 to 77 MPH produced blowing dust in the 
Yakima Valley, the lower Columbia Basin, and the foothills of 
the Blue Mountains. In some susceptible areas, there were very 
dense clouds of blowing dust that dramatically reduced visibility 
to as low as zero feet. The high winds also caused damage to 
property from trees blown down and large fallen tree limbs. 
Power outages also occurred. Dense clouds of blowing dust caused 
two multiple vehicle pileups on I-84 in Umatilla County. 
Another vehicle pileup occurred around 9 AM due to blowing dust 
near the town of Harrah in Yakima County. Unfortunately, 
a wind surfer lost his life on the Columbia River near Boardman, 
Oregon due to the wind-driven high waves on the Columbia River. 

-- Alan Polan, KE4TRR, Pendleton, Oregon

==> May 1-2 2010 Events

As if one weekend of severe weather wasn't enough, storms moved 
into north and central Mississippi on the May 1-2 weekend. It was 
especially busy in Alcorn County. During the morning of Saturday, 
May 1, the Coca Cola Classic 10K Foot Race was conducted with 
Alcorn County ARES® providing communication at each mile marker 
back to the start/finish line. Around 2 PM, after a tornado 
warning had been issued for the area, the ARES® net was activated. 
Dustin Brumfield, KD5LAP, and Ricky Gibens, KF5BIF, were in the 
field spotting when a wall cloud was observed three miles west 
of the Tishomingo County line on Hwy 72 in the Glen area. Also 
reported were flash flooding, small hail, and debris.

In Lafayette County, a tornado touched down in Abbeville. Assistant 
EC Jerry McGregor, KD5JHE reported that at the request of Lafayette 
County Emergency Management Emergency management Director 
David Shaw, K5MBI, ARES® /SKYWARN members provided continuous 
weather updates from NWS, news services, and personal computer 
radar. Emergency personnel often could not hear ongoing NWS warnings. 
ARES® /SKYWARN kept them up to date for oncoming rain, additional 
thunderstorms, and NWS bulletins.

In the middle of tornado season in Mississippi with hurricane 
season looming ahead, Mississippi radio amateurs are encouraged 
to review the Mississippi Emergency Operations Plan, which can 
be downloaded from the Mississippi Section Web site. 

- Mississippi Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX

==>Tennessee Flooding Response MAY 1, 2010

Michael Wright, N4MAW, EC, Wilson County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, 
responded to the Wilson county, Tennessee, Emergency Management Agency's 
EOC at 4 AM on Saturday, May 1, upon their request and activation of the 
EOC Weather Operations Team. Wright brought the EOC's HF station on line 
and began monitoring the Middle Tennessee Emergency Traffic on 3.980 and 
7.232 MHz as well as the local 147.105 MHz repeater and the 443.725 MHz 
repeater (MTEARS Net). The heavy rains arrived later that afternoon.
At 1:30 PM Wright called for the ARES® net to be convened in an informal 
mode to begin taking reports on the arriving weather, flooding, road 
conditions, and to provide updates to the operators monitoring the 
frequencies. Numerous reports of flooding on local roads as well as I-40 
in Wilson County were received.

Dave Bonner, KJ4BLG, was deployed to assess the main ingress/egress 
routes for Watertown upon the request of Wilson EMA officials. Bonner 
was able to safely determine that the routes were impassable; Watertown 
was isolated due to flooding. Bonner also reported that residents were 
evacuating their homes in Watertown and a shelter was needed. Through 
his efforts, WEMA officials were able to get the Watertown High School 
opened up as a shelter for evacuees. Seven radio amateurs in Wilson 
County checked into the net and provided valuable flooding information 
to WEMA officials throughout the day.

On Sunday, Tom Parker, KB4SFN, responded to an NWS request, and the 
ARES® net was again active in support of WEMA and its response to the 
flooding. Again, numerous reports of flooded roads and isolated 
subdivisions were received and passed onto WEMA officials. The Watertown 
Fire and Police repeaters went down and ARES® ops received the report 
and notified WEMA, Wilson County 911, and the Middle Tennessee Electric 
utility of the situation. ARES® also prepared to send an operator to 
the Watertown Police and Fire station in order to assist with getting 
emergency responders en route to any emergency should the repeaters 
not come back on line quickly.

Wright also assisted the EOC staff with the receipt of flood reports, 
shelter information requests, and flood information requests. 
This included taking non-emergency phone calls and operating their 
low-band public safety radio when no other personnel were available 
to do so. These operations lasted until 9 PM Sunday night at which 
time the ARES® organization secured operations upon full release by 
WEMA officials. -- Michael Wright, N4MAW, Emergency Coordinator, 
Wilson County Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Nashville Flooding Response

Bob Rogers, KB4PYP, EC of Davidson County, Tennessee, reports that on 
the weekend of May 1-2, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) 
requested ARES® support, with 23 operators responding. Rogers stated 
that their "SKYWARN net was in standby for most of the day on Saturday 
as we watched the approaching storms." The OEM went into full 
activation and Rogers was called in to the "War Room" at 7 PM where he 
remained until early Sunday morning, when he had to return home to deal 
with water seeping into his bedroom. The SKYWARN net remained active 
until the front passed.

By 5 PM on Monday, a Red Cross shelter at Bellevue Middle School had 
requested an operator to support communications needs as there was a 
lack of cell phone service. Two operators established communication 
systems to support the shelter for emergency medical support. 
The Cross Point Community Church also requested ARES® assistance with 
distribution of supplies. Seven ARES® members deployed there.
On Tuesday, May 4, Red Cross requested radio communication support for 
a relocated disaster headquarters at the abandoned Skyline-Madison 
campus on Neeleys Bend, where 12 ARES® members participated. 
Communication was established between Red Cross-Charlotte Road office 
and the Disaster headquarters. A report was sent to the Cheatham County EMA.
Rogers said "while operating our net in support of the Red Cross shelter 
operation I received a call from an ARES® member in Cheatham County 
reporting that his neighborhood was isolated by flood waters. 

He and his neighbors were running out of fresh water and food supplies. 
I called K1KY on our MTEARS frequency and obtained the phone number of 
the Cheatham County EMA office and reported to them that 75 people were 
in need of fresh water and food supplies. Two helicopters were sent 
with supplies by the afternoon to those stranded people."

==>Massive Mississippi Storms Response APRIL 24, 2010

Severe weather moved into most areas of Mississippi on Saturday, April 24,
which was well-documented in the national news media. The most significant 
feature was an EF-4 super cell that formed in Madison Parish and moved 
through Warren, Yazoo, Holmes, Attala, Choctaw, Monroe, and Union counties 
with ten fatalities and more than 700 homes destroyed. Yazoo County EC 
Glenn Patterson, KE5YES, reported that a two-meter ARES® Net was quickly 
activated to collect information. With William Thrasher, W5PKN, as NCS 
and help from KE5YEF, KC5MUV, KC5QON, KE5IZK, KE5MQS, and KE5KTU, traffic 
was passed through KB5GT via HF to served agencies in Jackson. Although 
the QRN was horrific, Melvin Oubre, W5MLO, managed to relay traffic to 
William McLarty, KM5GE, at the Mississippi EMA (MEMA) center 
(operating KM5EMA) and James Spencer, K5CID, at the Red Cross office 
(operating W5PFC).

West Central Mississippi DEC Jacob Lancaster, KE5KTU, reported that at 
noon on the previous day, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in 
Jackson requested that SKYWARN activate the Weather Net. Linda Goodman, 
KE5PYM, opened the net and employed an NWS chat mode via the Internet 
from her home while operators were en route to the NWS office. Numerous 
reports were received via the KA5SBK repeater as well as via the Jackson 
ARC Echolink W5PFR repeater in Clinton in order to contact stations 
outside of the repeater coverage area. The operators also used 3862 kHz 
to hold an open net to relay stations' reports.

At noon on Saturday, the SKYWARN ops were receiving reports of a possible 
tornado in Warren County and provided valuable information for the NWS 
from Vicksburg stations. Subsequently, a tornado was reported on the 
ground north of Vicksburg. Evaluation of the path indicated that the super 
cell was heading into Yazoo County. The W5PFC repeater was cross-banded 
into the Yazoo City repeater, and WX5JAN started receiving damage reports 
from there. At this point, SKYWARN operators contacted the Red Cross (ARC) 
in Jackson, and officials requested ARES® operators to activate the station 
at the local chapter there. By 3 PM, ARES® ops had established communications 
with the Red Cross in Jackson, the Kings Daughters Hospital in Yazoo City, 
and with MEMA via a network of repeaters.

The following morning (Sunday), the KA5SBK repeater was linked into the 
Yazoo City repeater and ARES® operators were deployed to the Red Cross 
Command Post that had been established on I-220 in Jackson. ARES® 
provided communications between the Command Post and the Red Cross 
shelter until 10 PM. Again on Monday, ARES® provided communications 
via repeater link between the Jackson Red Cross and Yazoo City Red Cross. 
Many ARES® perators were involved in this major effort for SKYWARN 
activation and Red Cross assistance.

EC Richard Morefield, AE5FE, reported that just as the super cell was 
crossing the Mississippi River into Warren County, the Lauderdale-Clarke 
Counties ARES® organization was hosting a training session on NTS 
messaging basics. During the training session, extremely violent weather 
entered the area, and Russell Brown, W5RB, deployed to the Lauderdale 
Emergency Management Agency (LEMA) EOC to monitor conditions. During 
W5RB's transit to the EOC, Charles Blackwell, K5DAD, while at work, 
initiated an informal weather net to take reports of damage and weather 
conditions. A tornado was reported by NWS and local residents of the 
southwest part of the county in the Meehan area.

In Warren County, N5JGK, KC5QZW, and KF5GGV deployed to Eagle Lake 
where some 25 to 30 homes were destroyed. Highway 465, the only road 
into the area, was blocked by fallen trees. N5JGK hiked his way in 
and took 20 pictures with his cell phone, which were forwarded to 
NWS-Jackson for assessment.

The storm event also extended to the northern end of the state. EC 
Timothy Curtis, KD5VMV, reported that the DeSoto County RACES/ARES® 
group was active during a 24 hour period, April 23-24. The DeSoto 
County EOC was staffed for the entire 24 hour storm event period 
monitoring weather conditions throughout northwest Mississippi. 
Multiple storm reports were relayed from the EOC to NWS-Memphis. 
Special kudos went to Timothy Jones, N5PYQ, for braving the storm 
to reset the power supply at the repeater shack after it was tripped by lightning.
Alcorn County EC Paul Reiselt, WB5CON, reported that their 
ARES®/SKYWARN net was activated for tornado warnings issued by 
the NWS in Memphis. Spotters reported high winds, heavy rain, and dime-sized hail.
Union County EC Gregg Fitzgerald, W5LMW, reported that the Northeast 
Mississippi SKYWARN net was activated. Thomas Hall, WB4VYB, arrived 
at the intersection of County Roads 127 and 128 just after a tornado had passed. 
The damage assessment was sent to NWS-Memphis, which issued a bulletin on the touchdown.
Also in northeast Mississippi, Prentiss County EC Rickey Norris, 
WX5N, reported that SKYWARN was activated on the Booneville machine. 
One funnel cloud was spotted and reported to NWS-Memphis. The 
Tishomingo County ARC also activated their emergency net. 
Elbert Potts, WB5VGV, was on the air from the county EOC.
It was busy in Lafayette County as well: EC Larry Brown, K5LMB, 
and AEC Jerry McGregor, KD5JHE, reported that Lafayette County 
ARES® operated a SKYWARN net, April 23-24, with two tornado warnings being issued.

==>911 Outage over; service restored to Nebraska 04-02-2010

LINCOLN, NB -- For much of Thursday morning, those who needed an  
ambulance or a police officer in Nebraska's capital city got only a  
busy signal when they called for help.

Later Thursday, many could reach emergency dispatchers, but some had  
to do a lot more than simply dial 911. That's because the links that  
tie together Lincoln's telephone system went out about 7:45 a.m. And  
so did a backup.

That left much of southeast Nebraska's emergency response system in  
dire straits. The event affected 911 callers in 15 southeast Nebraska  
counties because all rely on the same telephone and data switching  
complex to provide 911 service.

In addition, those outside Lincoln who tried to reach a Lincoln  
grandma, the seat of state government or the University of  
Nebraska-Lincoln had no luck. Shortly before midnight, most of the  
services had been restored.

Earlier Thursday, in a scene straight out of a disaster movie,  
residents were asked to approach HAM RADIO OPERATORS at Main  
Intersections or visit local fire stations if they needed help. By  
late Thursday, authorities had received no reports of serious  
injuries, illnesses or crimes going unanswered.

"We're here just in case," said ham radio operator Mike Disney,  
stationed along Lincoln's 27th Street. "We were trained for Y2K, but  
April 1st didn't happen until 10 years later."

The same switches affected all of downtown Lincoln and the area around  
it. At 10 p.m., callers from Omaha to the Capitol, UNL or the City of  
Lincoln still received a busy signal or a message saying all circuits  
were busy.

The outage began when the Lincoln switching complex and its backup,  
operated by Arkansas-based Windstream Communications, failed, company  
official Brad Hedrick said.

That caused 911 outages in David City, Fairbury, Hebron, Lincoln,  
Pawnee City, Plattsmouth, Seward, Superior, Wahoo and surrounding  
areas. By late afternoon, some 15 counties among them Jefferson,  
Adams, Cass and Saline were affected.

Repairs enabled those with landlines to regain access to 911 by about  
noon, some four hours later. But people with cell phones were unable  
to dial 911. A late fix worked out between the Lancaster County 911  
center and some cell service providers allowed some cell calls to be  
routed to cell phones dispatchers used as backup, said Julie Righter,  
who oversees the Lancaster County 911 center.

Company officials said the outage affected the 36,000 Windstream  
customers served by the switching station for downtown Lincoln.  
Windstream has five such switches for Lincoln.

Windstream's affected landline customers could call locally but not  
long-distance. Nor could they receive calls from outside the affected  
area, even in town. Cell phone calls to affected customers could not  
get through at all.

The 911 center in Lancaster County usually receives about 30 to 40  
calls an hour in the morning hours, Righter said. There was a time  
Thursday when it received none. Since then, she said, calls had picked  
back up to fairly normal levels.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission said it would investigate  
whether Windstream should be disciplined.

"We certainly apologize for the issues that we're having," said David  
Avery, a spokesman for Windstream. "We certainly understand the  
seriousness of the issue, and that's why our engineers and technicians  
are working around the clock."

The failure, quite predictably, threw a wrench into law enforcement  
operations.

The outage affected the Nebraska State Patrol's main office number.  
Motorists in need of help in the affected areas were asked to call  
State Patrol Troop A Headquarters in Omaha. Signs along Interstate 80,  
even in Omaha, advised motorists to call Troop A for help.

Saunders County Emergency Manager Terry Miller said a call went out  
over emergency radio systems to various volunteer fire and rescue  
departments in the area, asking them to send people to man local fire  
stations.

Wahoo Fire Chief Corey Wagner said anyone needing emergency assistance  
was being urged to go to either the local fire station or village  
office.

In Lancaster County, sheriff's deputies were stationed at rural fire  
departments. Requests for aid also were being e-mailed to the  
Sheriff's Office.

Members of the Lincoln Ham Radio Club were scattered throughout the  
city to help relay information to first responders.

Ham radio operators Disney and Jack Peters watched traffic along  
Lincoln's 27th Street beginning at 1:30 p.m.

They were watching from Peters' red 1988 Chevy Blazer in a parking lot  
outside a strip mall. Authorities told them the radio operators might  
be needed until Friday morning, Peters said.

Although they hadn't had any requests for assistance, the two said  
they enjoyed watching cars go by and listening to radio traffic. They  
said they hadn't heard of any emergencies. "Just a stalled car here  
and there," Peters said.

But they emphasized that they were prepared to relay messages to the  
Lancaster County Emergency Operations Center should the need arise.

World-Herald staff writer Leslie Reed contributed to this report,  
which also includes material from the World-Herald News Service and  
the Associated Press.

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com




==>City of Norfolk, VA Presents recognition to NORFOLK ARES for November 2009 Nor'easter

The Department of Emergency Preparedness would like to recognize you for your outstanding service and dedication to the City of Norfolk during the November Nor’easter.  Your organization stepped up in the time of a crisis and performed your job in a very professional and efficient manner.  Thank you for your commitment to your craft and to the Citizens of Norfolk.

Ron Keys
Director

November 2009


==>Utah Hams Coordinate Rescue 2 DEC 2009

In areas where cell phone signals just won't work, Amateur Radio gets through. That's what happened when Brent Yeates, KA7FAP, of North Logan, Utah, found out just before noon on Wednesday, December 2 when he came across a dairy truck that had crashed and rolled over in the Logan River as he drove on Route 89 through Logan Canyon.

As 38,000 pounds of dairy products were spilling into the Logan River, Yeates waded through the cold river to help get the driver out of the truck's cab and then put out a call on his handheld transceiver. Another ham, Brent Carruth, AD7VF, of Logan, was monitoring the repeater and heard Yeates make the call. Carruth listened as Yeates give a first-hand account of the condition of the driver and the seriousness of the crash and then called 911. According to The Herald Journal, Utah Highway Patrol officials originally reported that the call for help came from a motorist who traveled to a cell phone reception area before dialing 911.

"What happened Wednesday, where a radio operator happened upon an accident, was not an isolated incident," Carruth told the newspaper. "It happens more frequently than one might suppose." Yeates, who owns property in the canyon and travels it weekly, agreed saying he says he helps a crash victim at least once a year: "When you pull up on an accident, your first concern is to make sure the driver or passengers are okay. I grabbed my fire extinguisher because there was smoke coming from the truck and I could hear the driver talking and he said he was okay."

This is not the first time a radio amateur was on hand to help out in Logan Canyon: In March 2008, Eldon Kearl, K7OGM, of Fish Haven, Idaho, was driving in the Logan Canyon, Utah area when he came upon a driver who lost control of her truck in the snow. Her truck fell more than 100 feet over a cliff, and two of the three passengers were thrown from the truck. Using his handheld transceiver, Kearl was able to contact Roger Ellis, KE7HTE, of Logan through the local repeater to ask for help.

Carruth explained that a radio operator virtually anywhere in the mountains of Cache or Rich County can broadcast a signal to the repeater that sits atop Logan Peak in the Bear River Mountains east of Logan. The cluster of communication equipment rises about 5200 feet above the valley floor, giving gives the spot a strong vantage point over much of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The Logan River rises in the Bear River Mountains in Idaho and flows south, then southwest through Logan Canyon and the Wasatch-Cache National Forest to the city of Logan in the Cache Valley. It then joins the Little Bear River a few kilometers west of Logan and about eight kilometers upstream from where the Little Bear River joins the Bear River. -- Information provided by The Herald Journal


==>Hams Help Out with Sea Rescue 1 DEC 2009

When Dave Nicholson, N2AWE, was stranded at sea earlier this month off the Bermuda Triangle, he had no fuel and his 47 foot sailboat had sustained severe damage in a storm. When they learned of his predicament, hams with the Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) helped to coordinate with the US Coast Guard to bring fuel and a tow boat to guide Nicholson safely to port.

On December 1, Nicholson contacted the MMSN seeking weather information, telling the Net Control Station he had sustained damage to his boat during some foul weather the previous night. "His sails were damaged beyond usability, a fuel tank had busted loose and numerous other problems were at hand, including the remaining fuel had been contaminated," Richard Webb, NF5B, told the ARRL. "The net provided him with weather guidance and forecasts for his part of the world -- between Bermuda and the Bahamas -- and he went on his way."

Nicholson again contacted the MMSN each day on the next two days. On December 3, he asked for some weather routing, not just a forecast. "I then ran a phone patch to a recognized weather router in Florida for him," Webb recounted. "We also queried him as to his status, food and water availability and such. He told us his wife, who was with him, was a bit battered and bruised during the storm [that damaged their boat]." The next day, the MMSN arranged for Herb Hilgenberg, VE3LML, a marine weather router, to be on frequency to offer assistance to Nicholson.

Bill Sturridge, KI4MMZ, telephoned Fred Moore, W3ZU, asking for Moore to come on 40 meters to assist with getting the Coast Guard in touch with Nicholson. "We made several phone patches between the US Coast Guard in Miami and Nicholson," Moore said. ""We also established a radio watch to maintain regular communications with the vessel until the band went long, due to the fact that Nicholson was too near Florida." Coast Guard officials spoke with Nicholson, but he still was not ready to declare an emergency. "He just wanted to make the Coast Guard aware of his situation," Moore said.

According to Moore, the Coast Guard asked him to maintain a watch on 2182 kHz until shorter skip returned the next day. "Over Saturday evening, the Coast Guard attempted to have a vessel rendezvous with Nicholson to transfer some fuel, but Nicholson refused to take any fuel, as he wasn't sure if he could store it or utilize it at this point," Webb said. "On Sunday afternoon around 1700 UTC, I conducted a phone patch to the Coast Guard from Nicholson. During this patch, we discussed possible fuel deliveries. The Coast Guard said they would put out a request for nearby commercial vessels to provide some diesel fuel for Nicholson."

Webb said that Nicholson "could only rely on a solar panel to charge his batteries to operate his radio equipment and what other electronics had survived [the storm]. He had no autopilot, no navigational computer, no Winlink or other capability. He had the ham bands and the VHF marine channel 16 available, but with limited battery power."

Because of Nicholson's precarious situation, Webb said that MMSN decided to "guard on 40 and 80 meters for the nighttime hours and we arranged with operators to guard those frequencies. Nicholson did not make any of the nighttime schedules, which followed the regular two hour pattern set up over the previous days. Even if Dave did not make the other daytime schedules, he always made the 1700-1800 time slot on 14300 kHz to get the weather and update us on his position."

On December 7, Webb conducted another phone patch between the Coast Guard and Nicholson. The Coast Guard said they would send out another message for vessels to assist with a fuel delivery. "Later that afternoon," Webb told the ARRL, "we relayed a message to Nicholson from the Coast Guard that a tanker would endeavor to rendezvous with him to transfer some diesel fuel."

Moore said that the Coast Guard had located a Swedish commercial merchant ship that was willing to provide Nicholson some much needed diesel fuel. "In the wee hours of the morning," he said, "the captain of the commercial vessel advised me that he had delivered the fuel but the engine on Nicholson's boat was not functioning, was dead in the water without lights and was, in his words, a 'hazard to navigation.'" Webb relayed that the commercial vessel's captain had advised Nicholson to "abandon [the boat] and turn in a claim to the insurance carrier right away." Later that day, the Coast Guard located a seagoing tug to go on site and meet up with Nicholson. The tug then towed his family and boat to Nassau, arriving 36 hours later, around 2000 UTC.

Steve Carpenter, K9UA, told the ARRL that he kept Nicholson's father informed of the rescue via landline, per Nicholson's request: "The father -- who is 88 years young -- was very thankful for all the effort taken by the ham radio operators involved and for the time it took to keep him informed until the final report that his son and family aboard were taken into port safe and sound."


==> Late Season Tropical Storm Ida Comes Calling on Gulf Coast

With only weeks to go before the end of the 2009 hurricane season, Tropical Storm Ida formed off the coast of Nicaragua, making landfall as a hurricane in the morning hours of November 5. The storm lost significant strength as it moved through Nicaragua and Honduras, only to reemerge in the Caribbean a day later, impacting El Salvador and Mexico. Ida gained strength, becoming a Category 2 storm with winds peaking at 105 miles per hour in the Gulf of Mexico. The path for Ida at this point was clearly toward the Gulf Coast of the US, with a projected landfall somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida panhandle. As Ida's path became more focused, Amateur Radio operators and ARES® groups concentrated on increasing their level of readiness should there be a need to respond.

On November 8, ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD, began to obtain information from the Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Northern Florida Sections on their level of readiness and to set the stage for any necessary response coordination. The ARRL Headquarters Incident Management Team was also placed on alert to support this activity. "Fortunately, some of this coordination was made easier by the fact that Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, and Northern Florida Section Manager Paul Eakin, KJ4G, as well as ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, and all were attending the Stone Mountain Hamfest in Lawrenceville, Georgia," Dura said.


Alabama: Alabama Section Manager Jay Isbell, KA4KUN, reported that the State Emergency Operations Center in Clanton was manned by amateurs for 24 hours supporting the coastal counties, along with the EOCs in Autauga, Baldwin, Calhoun, Cherokee and Covington counties. The State's D-STAR 2 meter repeaters were linked together; the Gulf Coast Weather Net was linked into the 440 D-Star sites to provide the bulk of the communications needs should they arise. The state emergency HF frequency of 3965 was utilized as a backup to the D-STAR system.

Louisiana: The Section went into a standby mode on November 8 and utilized a State Net on 3.873 MHz to update operational considerations as needed. Since this frequency is also used for emergencies in the ARRL's South Texas Section, they cancelled their regularly scheduled net to accommodate Louisiana's needs. The amateur station at the State Emergency Operations Center was available, but was not activated. While many parish EOCs were operational -- since Ida's track was to the east of the state -- communications needs requiring Amateur Radio resources and support did not occur.

Mississippi: Assistant Mississippi Section Manager Tom Hammack, W4WLF, provided the primary coordination for the Mississippi Section for Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX. The Section was placed on alert for possible responses on Sunday. Hammack reported amateur activities at County Emergency Operations Centers in Jackson, Pearl River and Stone Counties, as well as at his location in Harrison County; all of this was in addition to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency EOC in Jackson.

Hammock said that since there was only one antenna feed line and no mounted antennas on the roof that were usable due to construction, they faced "severe challenges" at the Harrison County EOC. "We managed the situation by temporarily -- but strongly mounting a 2 meter/70cm antenna that connected the operation to the D-STAR network," Hammock told the ARRL. "We also did a quick re-build of a G5RV antenna for any HF needs." In addition to the rapid repair and build work done, Jeff Smith, N9OKV, monitored nets from his home in Long Beach and relayed the information to the Harrison EOC. The Harrison County EOC was not the only EOC that faced challenges: At the State EOC, hams encountered hardware and other technical glitches with EchoLink.

Northern Florida: Section Manager, Paul Eakin, KJ4G, began the efforts by establishing contact with the Florida Division of Emergency Management in Tallahassee on November 8; by Monday morning, he activated the communications networks for any needs. Hams provided Amateur Radio support to the National Weather Service Office in Tallahassee utilizing HF and EchoLink; the State EOC was connected in also using EchoLink.

Section Net Managers set up a rotating schedule of 22 hams to cover 3950 MHz around the clock through Tuesday if needed, and the Southeast Weather D-STAR Network was made available along the Gulf Coast for any needs. Several County EOCs were manned through mid-day Tuesday. Eakin told the ARRL that this was the first chance to use the Section's resource database: "By using the database, we were successful in meeting and eliminating a duplicate mission request in Walton County."

National Nets: From a national perspective, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIP Net) were operational at various times in the life cycle of Ida. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center, did receive information on the storm from Robert Mills, KC4MQU, who is stationed on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The station was not operational when Ida made landfall due to the storm's strength and the fact that local NWS Forecast Offices and their SKYWARN spotters were providing data as needed. The National Traffic System Region 5 activated their emergency nets for a time during Ida's approach.

While Ida became extra-tropical shortly after landfall, Dura said its remnants could still cause flooding over parts of the Southeastern US, as upwards of 5 inches of rain or more could fall over the next two days accompanied by strong winds. Many areas have Flood and Flash Flood Watches and Warning in places, along with Wind Advisories. ARES® groups in those areas may still be playing a support role. "While the efforts of hams for the landfall of Ida have ended, Amateur Radio is likely playing an expanding role in those areas encountering the remains of the storm supporting the National Weather Service Forecast Offices through the SKYWARN program," Dura explained. "Even though hurricane season officially ends on November 30, Mother Nature pays no attention to the calendar. Tropical events can still be encountered and the remains of these that turn extra-tropical can cause significant damage and destruction to the areas they impact."

Dura said that the affected Sections all echoed the same thing in their reports: "It could have been much worse. At best, we had a good exercise."



==> Ham radio supports disasters

A severe tropical storm in The Phillipines and earthquakes in Indonesia have seen radio amateurs providing emergency communications and other relief and recovery assistance.

Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA) President, Dr Joey Panganiban DU1BP reports that a tropical storm named "Ondoy" hit the Philippines five days ago creating a tragic calamity with hams swinging into action to help.

Joey DU1BP said, "We have mobilized our amateur radio clubs for the relief operations. The frequencies of 7.045 MHz have been used for general announcements while 2-metres FM is for our community operations."

The disaster has affected more than two million people and the death toll is headed for around 300.

Joey DU1BP said, "All amateur and civic radio clubs are now on operation in Metro Manila under the guidance of the National Telecommunications Commission and PARA."

He said the PARA Secretariat has been designated to receive donations and soliciting donations both in kind and cash for the victims.

Joe DU1BP said, "What the evacuees need is food that are ready to eat (those without much preparation) such as canned goods, noodles, rice, bread, coffee, milk, sugar, salt and water."

"They also need medical attention and medications needed for cough, colds, fever, diarrhea and vitamins. These items will be repacked and given direct to the recipients, using community officials as contact points."

Meantime a powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, trapping thousands under collapsed buildings and triggering landslides.

At least 75 people were killed on Sumatra island after the 7.6 on the Ritcher scale earthquake strike. A follow-up strong nearby inland earthquake caused even more damage.

In a brief message just hours after that disaster from the Organisasi Amatir Radio Indonesia (ORARI), received by IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee Chairman, Jim Linton VK3PC, it has been confirmed that hams are involved there too.

Wisnu Widjaja W1SNU/YB0AZ reports "We are active on the field now to support the emergency Communications in West and South Sumatera, Indonesia. Now, we are using 2-meters and 40-meter band."

More information can be expected in coming days. 
However no reports so far of amateur radio emergency communications in the Pacific as a tsunami hit Samoa leaving a trail of death and destruction.



Jim Linton VK3PC



==> HAMS HEED THE CALL WHEN TORNADOES SWEEP THROUGH COLORADO 

On Thursday, May 22 at approximately noon MDT, a large tornado touched down in northern Colorado near the town of Windsor. Windsor, with a population of nearly 19,000, is located approximately 10 miles southeast of Fort Collins, and 50 miles north of Denver. According to ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jeff Ryan, K0RM, initial reports indicated that there was the possibility of extensive damage. Ryan said that Colorado ARES District 10 was activated and David Markham, W0CBI, the Colorado Section Emergency Coordinator, monitored the situation.

The funnel cloud, accompanied by golf-ball sized hail, blackened the skies over Windsor as it knocked down power lines, shredded crops in fields outside the city and blasted whole neighborhoods; the southeast side of town was hit the worst by the storm. "It will be a long time before the town recovers from this," Windsor Mayor John Vasquez said.

Ryan said reports indicated the Windsor tornado was just one of several that swept across northern Colorado and part of Wyoming: "The storm resulted in one fatality, and more than 100 people were treated on the scene for some type of injury with another 18 people treated at area hospitals. Damage is widespread and includes homes and business in Weld and Larimer Counties. We also received damage reports from the smaller towns of Gilcrest and Platteville."

The Weld County Sheriff's Office reported that the lone fatality, Oscar Manchester, 52, a US Marine and Vietnam veteran, was killed in a recreational vehicle that was destroyed in the storm at a campground west of Greeley, about 60 miles north of Denver.

Colorado ARES District 10 Emergency Coordinator Randy Long, W0AVV, reported that 31 operators provided communications service to the Emergency Operations Center and Fire Department in Windsor, the Weld County Emergency Operations Center, the Larimer County Emergency Operations Center, the City of Loveland Emergency Operations Center, the Loveland Mobile Command post and two Red Cross shelters.

"On Friday, the town was still without power and remained so until local utilities could complete a survey of electrical transmission lines in the affected area that is expected to take up to 48 hours," Ryan said.
"A mandatory evacuation for sections of Windsor is in effect due to gas leaks and downed power lines. The National Guard is on duty and is responsible for escorting emergency responders in and out of the area."

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter ordered the National Guard to aid rescue and cleanup efforts. He visited the town Thursday evening, saying the number of homes damaged was "significant" and declared a state of emergency for Weld County. Representatives from FEMA were on the scene conducting damage assessments. On Monday, President Bush approved Colorado's request for federal disaster aid to help with the costs of the storms and tornadoes, and declared Weld and Larimer Counties federal disaster areas.

On Friday, Markham placed an additional 15 Amateur Radio operators in Larimer and Weld County on standby in anticipation of an overnight shift; he also requested adjacent districts to prepare in support of the ongoing operations if necessary.

Windsor, Fort Collins and Loveland lie in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, where the Great Plains give way to steep hills. "It's very unusual to see [a tornado like] this by a mountain range. It's kind of a freak thing," said Captain Steve Fleming of the Poudre Fire Authority.

Ryan said that at the peak of the ARES operation, "Colorado ARES District 10 had 55 operators supporting emergency response and relief efforts in the aftermath of the tornado that touched down near Windsor."

==> AMATEURS ASSIST WITH FLORIDA FIRES

Amateur Radio operators in Brevard County, Florida responded in a support role during a recent spate of wildfires that ravaged the towns of Palm Bay and Malabar. The fires, all of which were deemed "suspicious" by fire authorities, began on Sunday, May 11. Dubbed the "Mother's Day Fires," they burned close to 13,000 acres in southern Brevard County. Located about 25 miles east of Orlando, Brevard County is home to Kennedy Space Center, site of NASA's space shuttle launch area.

John Weatherly, AB4ET, and Clayton Bennett, KA4NHW, manned a 2 meter station in a shelter set up by the American Red Cross. Additionally, the Brevard Emergency Amateur Radio Services (BEARS) donated the use of their mobile command center to public safety agencies. The command vehicle, dubbed BEARS-I, was obtained through a $100,000 grant from the State of Florida. The interior was designed and built by a group of Amateur Radio operators from local Brevard County clubs that are members of BEARS. BEARS-I is outfitted with Brevard County 800 MHz public safety radios and amateur equipment.

BEARS-I was used as a command post in the weeklong operation. The Palm Bay Fire Department, the Palm Bay Police Department, ARES and Florida Power and Light manned the four operating positions. The unit was put in place at Bayside High School when the fires started; it was relocated the next day to the US Air Force tracking station that became the new command center, as well as the staging area for trucks and teams from other counties. BEARS-I was used as a self-contained command center around the clock for over five days

According to official sources, the Mother's Day fires destroyed more than 30 homes with an estimated value of $5.6 million, and damaged almost 250 residences. A man is in custody on three counts of intentional burning of lands after witnesses reported seeing him light several small fires one night that were quickly extinguished. According to authorities, the investigation continues into whether the suspect set all the fires, or if others were involved. -- Some information provided by Jan Heise, K4QD, and Dan Fisher, AI4GK

==> CHINESE OFFICIALS GIVE KUDOS TO AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS 

As disaster recovery efforts continue following the earthquake in the Wenchuan area of China's Sichuan province on May 12, China's Information Office of the State Council reports that the death toll has reached more than 67,000 persons as of May 27. Communications in some of the surrounding areas were cut off, and communications in some other areas experienced network congestion due to drastically increased traffic.
According to the Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA) -- the Chinese IARU Member-Society -- Chinese government officials and the news media have recognized that when communications failed after the earthquake, Amateur Radio operators stepped in to provide vital links.

CRSA designated 14.270, 7.050 and 7.060 MHz for emergency communications use during the quake, but these frequencies are now no longer restricted for this use; should a severe aftershock occur, CRSA said it will make the call for them to be kept clear again.

On Monday, May 26, China Central Television (CCTV) reported that, "When all other communication means failed, Amateur Radio operators came out!
An Amateur Radio emergency communication network was set up, and one of the commanders, Liu Hu [BG8AAS], called for Amateur Radio operators on air to provide services for disaster relief."

Fan Bin, BA1RB, on behalf of CRSA, said, "Thankfully, one main repeater survived during the earthquake. This repeater provided 100 km coverage to Mianyang. Amateur Radio operators from Chengdu, Shenzhen, He'nan went to the center of the disaster area, set up repeaters in Beichuan County and provided various valuable first hand information from the center."

CRSA officials said they hoped to report more detailed information on the role of Amateur Radio emergency communications in the big earthquake at a later date. In the meantime, Fan said, CRSA acknowledged that the main organizer of local Amateur Radio traffic, Luo Minglin, BY8AA, "continuously coordinated VHF/UHF communications for a 100 km radius from Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's province of Sichuan. More repeaters were set up in both Beichuan and Mianyang -- among the worst hit areas outside the epicenter -- to form an effective Amateur Radio communication network."

Zhang Zhen, BG8DOU, said that right after the earthquake, "Two ham radio operators drove to the center of the earthquake area and had a repeater set up by the morning of May 13. This repeater enabled the transmission of rescue instructions and status reports, and was a main communication channel for public use. The repeater carried communications for the Mayor of Mianzhu City who gave orders to those on the front line rescue and recovery activity."

The CRSA said it appreciates the support given by the Amateur Radio community in helping to keep clear the emergency communication frequencies of 7050 kHz, 7060 kHz and 14270 kHz during the critical period after the earthquake: "Thanks for the cooperation and efforts made by all Amateur Radio societies." The CRSA also acknowledged having received inquiries and the "warm concerns" of Amateur Radio societies worldwide. -- Information provided by Fan Bin, BA1RB, on behalf of CRSA, via IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee Chairman Jim Linton VK3PC


==> FLORIDA HAMS HELP OUT WHEN NWS GOES DARK 

On Tuesday, February 12, a tornado touched down in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Unfortunately, National Weather Service (NWS) alerts failed due to problems with phone circuits. Dennis Decker, Warning Coordinator Meteorologist with the NWS in Melbourne, said two of their four transmission lines went down that afternoon around 3:30, but were back up five hours later. Messages are carried to towers via telephone, he said. 

"That's a big issue when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather alerting radio is not working," said Brevard County Emergency Management Director Bob Lay. The county went into backup mode, using the volunteer emergency alert system. The NWS activated Amateur Radio operators to help get the word out about the tornado warning. "We have ham operators to tell us when they see something," Decker said. 

Dan Fisher, AI4GK, of Palm Bay, Florida, said he tried to tune into a weather frequency on his radio, but said, "I couldn't pick up anything.
The [station out of] Melbourne has a loud hum on it and nothing else."

Fisher and Emergency Coordinator for the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society John Weatherly, AB4ET, said the group participated in an emergency drill just last week that involved a tornado scenario. "We're there when we're needed," Weatherly said. "We give the meteorologists a warm and fuzzy feeling of what is really happening."

Although Tuesday's storms were dwarfed by the massive 2005 hurricanes, transmitters were rendered useless in both situations. Dave Jacobs, Data Acquisitions Property Manager at the NWS office in Melbourne, said that when problems do occur, it is usually something to do with the telephone lines. "It's our Achilles' heel," he said. Jacobs oversees the radio system for Melbourne, checking its transmitters three times daily to ensure they are working.

Weather Service officials in Melbourne know the alert announcing the first tornado watch at 2:25 PM went out across the radio system. At 3 PM, when another weather alert went out, officials determined they had a problem with the Melbourne and Orlando transmitters. Jacobs said he had just listened as the computer system read the entire message in the Melbourne office, a stage in the alert process that occurs before the message reaches phone lines. He then received a telephone call from a county official saying only half of the second weather alert was broadcast.  -- Information provided by Floridatoday.com

==> AMATEURS LEND A HAND AS DEADLY STORMS SWEEP ACROSS SOUTHERN UNITED STATES February 5, 2008

At least 54 people were killed and hundreds injured Tuesday and Wednesday by dozens of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama in the nation's deadliest barrage of twisters in almost 23 years. In spite of the disasters, state and local emergency management officials once again discovered that they could call on Amateur Radio operators to help out and get communications up and going again after the infrastructure failed.
 
According to ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, "Four people were killed in Alabama as the storms damaged homes, caused flooding and downed trees and power lines. North Alabama SKYWARN, ARES and scores of Amateur Radio operators were up all night long, providing vital communications to the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agencies all across the region. Once again, Amateur Radio operators played a critical role before, during and after the storms. I am proud of the level of professionalism and critical information that these operators provided our served agencies."
 
Hundreds of houses were damaged or destroyed across the region. Authorities had no immediate cost estimate of the damage. The storms flattened entire streets, smashed warehouses and sent tractor-trailers flying. Houses were reduced to splintered piles of lumber. Some looked like life-size dollhouses, their walls sheared away. Crews going door-to-door to search for bodies had to contend with downed power lines, snapped trees and flipped-over cars. Near hard-hit Lafayette, Tennessee, cattle wandered through the debris. At least 12 people died in and around the town; more than 30 were killed in Tennessee alone.
 
"It looks like the Lord took a Brillo pad and scrubbed the ground," Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen said as he surveyed the damage from a helicopter. "I don't think that I have seen, since I've been governor, a tornado where the combination of the intensity of it and the length of the track was as large as this one," he said. "That track had to be 25 miles long. [The twister] didn't skip like a lot of them do...It's just 25 miles of a tornado sitting on the ground." 

Most communities had ample warning that the storms were coming. Forecasters had warned for days that severe weather was possible. The National Weather Service issued more than 1000 tornado warnings from 3 PM Tuesday-6 AM Wednesday in the 11-state area where the weather was heading. The conditions for bad weather had lined up so perfectly that the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma put out an alert six days in advance.
 
Tennessee Section Emergency Coordinator Lowell Bennington, WD4DJW, said that approximately 25 hams in Madison County had participated in SKYWARN activities before the storm arrived; one ham actually spotted the twister. "Two hams reported to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency-West, assisting in passing radio communication. A couple of hams assisted Madison County EMA in setting up their Mobile Command Post. On Wednesday, 10 teams were dispatched to do Damage Assessment. These teams were composed of three individuals, one of whom was an Amateur Radio operator," he said. 
Bennington said that hams in Middle Tennessee "utilized our vast networks of linked 2 meter repeater systems as well as our UHF-linked system in support of the National Weather Service, Tennessee Emergency Management, law enforcement agencies and participating local EMA offices. Operators from Wilson County were dispatched to the Nashville NWS office and they operated from there until around 3:30 AM Thursday, giving and taking weather reports." 

Alabama ARES District 6 Emergency Coordinator Doug Hilton, WD0UG, said his area was hit hard by a fast-moving line of severe weather; District 6 covers the northern counties of Alabama. Hilton contacted the NWS office in Huntsville early Wednesday regarding possible SKYWARN activation. "After discussing the situation with NWS personnel, it was decided that since this was going to be a long event, that would probably last all night, it was best not to tie up the local repeaters early on. I opened an informal SKYWARN net to get weather information out to the amateur community during the afternoon, and several Madison County hams participated in the net. We closed the net after about an hour and re-opened it that evening at 7," he said. Madison County ARES was activated that evening and other hams in the area joined in. Hilton said Northern Alabama has a linked-repeater system that covers all 10 counties during emergency conditions. 

The storm churned into Western Alabama from Mississippi about 9 PM. The main part of the storm started its destruction at 3 AM. Hilton said, "The storm was a killer, and the extra lead time that people got from the great staff at NWS probably led to a reduction in casualties. A massive long-track EF-3 tornado hit Lawrence County and caused 3 fatalities and more than 20 people were injured." Hilton said the NWS estimated the twister to be 1/2 mile wide with a path length of 18.7 miles, causing "extreme destruction of property." An EF-4 tornado with peak winds of 180 MPH went through Jackson County, causing one fatality.
 
Hilton said hams were able to provide many timely situation reports, "and 'ground truth' is always the best indicator of reality. Many of the hams who stayed up all night were also prepared to leave their homes at a moment's notice to go anywhere in the District, if needed. The incredible teamwork of this ARES/SKYWARN team and the level of professionalism was something to behold." 
Chris Shaw, W4BGN, Kentucky District Emergency Coordinator, said several confirmed tornadoes touched down throughout his state. "Kentucky hams activated weather nets, while others were out and about spotting for severe weather. Allen and Monroe Counties in South Central Kentucky were especially hard hit. Some repeaters lost power and hams quickly adapted, going to emergency simplex frequencies on 2 meters. The communications went very smooth and seemed to be beneficial to many. Hams worked throughout the night to help provide communications, especially to those areas without power." 

President Bush gave assurances that his administration stood ready to help. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were sent to the region and activated an emergency center in Georgia, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday. "We're going to keep watching this." "Loss of life, loss of property -- prayers can help and so can the government," Bush said. "I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them." On Wednesday, Bush called the governors of the affected states to offer help and to tell them that "the American people hold those who suffered up in prayer." 

While the weather was unusually severe, winter tornadoes are not uncommon. The peak tornado season is late winter through midsummer, but the storms can happen at any time of the year with the right conditions. "All the clues were there. It was just unfortunate that it came out the way it did," prediction center director Joseph Schaefer said. Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist at the Oklahoma center, said there were 67 eyewitness accounts of tornadoes, but some of those were probably twisters that were counted more than once; the actual number is probably more like 30 or 40, he said. 

As more ARES groups relay information to ARRL, we will update these reports on the ARRL Web site. -- Some information provided by The Weather Channel 


* Amateurs Activated as Tornado Strikes Mississippi Town: On the afternoon of January 10, an EF3 tornado hit Caledonia, Mississippi, approximately 60 miles southeast of Tupelo. The tornado caused major damage to the town of 1000 people; an elementary school gymnasium was severely damaged. The Lowndes County Emergency Operations Center activated area storm spotters in advance of the approaching storm; hams assigned to the EOC activated the Amateur Radio station there and started to gather information on the weather. After the storm passed, EOC personnel requested assistance from radio operators to help with reports of major damage to homes and buildings in the town. The EOC set up a command post at the fire station downtown and asked members of ARES to provide communication between the EOC and Red Cross; the Red Cross had set up a shelter at a local church not too far from the affected area, and local amateurs set up portable lights and generators. Hams maintained communication until 7 PM local time. Members of the Monroe County Amateur Radio Club set up their repeater for a secondary emergency contact frequency in Monroe County; Lowndes County is just south of Monroe County.  -- Information provided by Doug Scallions, KD5FUO, ARRL Emergency Coordinator for Lowndes County.

* Radio Amateur Named Head of Tropical Prediction Center: Veteran meteorologist Bill Read, KB5FYA, was named the new director of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Tropical Prediction Center, which includes the National Hurricane Center (NHC) earlier this month. Read had served as the Center's acting deputy director since August 2007. The NHC has a dedicated amateur station on-site -- W4EHW -- and has worked closely with hams for decades. In announcing Read's appointment to head the Center, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher cited Read's three decades of experience with the agency and of his reputation as "a trusted consultant to emergency managers" in the Houston area. NOAA's Tropical Prediction Center contains three divisions: The National Hurricane Center -- provides forecasts of the movement and strength of tropical weather systems and issues watches and warnings for the US and surrounding areas; The Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch -- issues year-round marine forecasts and warnings over the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic and eastern Pacific, produces tropical cyclone position and intensity estimates and provides operational support during landfalling hurricane and tropical storm events; The Technical Support Branch -- provides support for the Center's computer and communications systems, developing new techniques for tropical cyclone and tropical weather analysis and prediction. 

==> ARISS INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN MOVES INTO NEW POSITION AT NASA 

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, was named recently as the NASA Headquarters Chief Engineer for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD). ESMD is NASA's initiative to develop a sustained human presence on the moon, promote space exploration and serve as a stepping stone to Mars and beyond. As ESMD Chief Engineer, he provides systems engineering advice and consultation to resolve some of the most demanding and complex technical and organizational challenges within the Exploration Program. 

Bauer and Rosalie White, K1STO, are the two ARISS delegates for the US.
He is the Vice President of Human Spaceflight Programs for the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. Bauer was a 2006 nominee for the Rotary National Award for Space Acheivement, bestowed upon him for "his tireless work to engage the youth of our nation and the world in the exploration of space through unique direct communications made possible by Amateur Radio on human spaceflight missions."

Bauer is the recipient of NASA's 2002 Outstanding Leadership Medal, the
1997 NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal -- bestowed for Pioneering Efforts in Spaceborne GPS -- and NASA's 1992 Exceptional Service Medal (for agency contributions in GN&C). He received the Silver Snoopy Award, the highly prestigious NASA Human Spaceflight Awareness award, in 1992. 

For more information about ARISS, please visit the ARISS Web page http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm .


-> Surfin': Guarding the Coasts with Our Radios

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor
December 21, 2007
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This week, learn how you can provide radio assistance to the US Coast Guard.
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The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is looking for a few good ham radio operators to be “Semper Paratus.”This week, Carl Zelich, AA4MI, gave me an early Christmas gift -- an idea for this week’s Surfin’.

I am regifting Carl’s gift to you and someday, you may use what you read here today and give the gift of life by helping to save someone in distress.
 
There are several Amateur Radio Nets that assist boaters throughout the world (to obtain a list of maritime nets, go to the <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/nets/client/index.html> ARRL net directory search page, select “Maritime Nets” and click on the “Search for Nets” button). But if you ever receive a call to contact the US Coast Guard to provide radio help, where do you begin?

Go to the Coast Guard’s <http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opr/rcc's.htm> Rescue Coordination Centers Web page and you will know where to go to begin. The information on this page should be available at the fingertips of every ham radio sailor and non-sailor alike.
Print out the page and keep it with your EmComm kits (and on your own boat if you have one) so you can provide assistance immediately and avoid fumbling through a telephone book or trying to get directory assistance. After all, we are hams and in the public’s eye -- this is what we do.

While on the subject, check out the cool Web sites of the <http://www.uscgradio.net/> Coast Guard Amateur Radio Club and <http://nws.cgaux.org/>US Coast Guard Auxiliary, who are actively seeking Amateur Radio operators. 
Also, my editor, Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, is a US Coast Guard veteran -- Semper Paratus!
Until next time, keep on surfin’. 

Editor’s note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, hopes Santa brings him a snowboard so he can surf down his driveway this winter. To communicate with Stan, send him e-mail or add comments to his blog. By the way, every installment of Surfin’ is indexed here, so go look it up


==> SAN DIEGO AREA HAMS ACTIVATED AS WILDFIRES RAVAGE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OCT 2007

As fires raged through parts of the San Diego area and other areas in Southern California, ham radio operators did their part to ensure the safety of residents either affected or threatened by the fires. ARES groups in San Diego were activated on Monday, October 22 and continued to assist their served agencies until early Wednesday morning. Sixty hams were called to service by the County of San Diego's Emergency Medical Service. 

According to ARRL San Diego Section Emergency Coordinator James J.
Cammarano II, KG6R, hams assisted at the San Diego Medical Operations Center, six trauma centers and 16 community hospitals. Hams served as a resource, Cammarano said, "to be used in case primary circuits to hospital communications were lost due to either overload or power interruptions." In addition to these 60 amateurs, another dozen or so hams were activated by the Red Cross. 

ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD, learned that San Diego ARES volunteers were activated and now they are in standby mode. "They are ready to go at a moment's notice, but there are currently no plans for re-activation," he said. As in any emergency situation, information can quickly change and the ARRL will continue to monitor the situation and inform members if the situation changes.

As the fires started to spread, hams started a FIRENET on the Palomar ARC 146.73 MHz repeater. Howard White, KY6LA, of La Jolla, who was among those who served as net control operator under extremely stressful conditions, disseminated a preliminary log of his experience. Excerpts
follow:

"With flames starting to engulf the county and no active single source of information, as best as I could determine Charlie NN3V stepped into the information vacuum to start the 'FIRENET' as an ad hoc operation on Sunday afternoon. Early contributors included Gayle K6GO and Gary W6GDK.
Initial operations started by collecting fire information as to fire location, wind directions, shelter locations and initial evacuations.
Hams provided eyes and ears on the ground where the danger was. Soon however the fires seemed to be heading down to the Poway area so Charlie and the other Poway hams needed to evacuate....

"Day One: Is the fire near us? Where is the head of the fire? What directions are the heads going? What are the winds doing? Should we evacuate? What roads are closed? What about our animals? Where should we go? What should we take? What is the route to avoid the flames?  Can you help us find missing people or pets? Can you help us get barrels of water for animals? Can you help us find food and water? Can you get the police to deal with looters?

"Unlike Katrina, the questions and answers did not abate at night. It was nonstop. Terry K3PXX needed routing around the fires to evacuate his Animal trailer.  Terry reported on Fires as he drove through Poway and back to San Marcos EOC. ROARS hams had evacuated Ramona and the 147.03 repeater and were looking for help to be routed safely out of the area.
Fires broke out in Coronado Hills in San Marcos. People needed to be evacuated. Brian KF6C asked where to evacuate his 4 children. San Marcos EOC needed to be activated and FIRENET held the fort for them until they could get there and became operational to evacuate San Marcos. George KG6IDE tries to drive up to Ramona to evacuate elderly parents but we turn him back to avoid the flames...

"0130 Tuesday: N9XF reports flame proceeding down 76 from Fallbrook. Tom KI6IET, who is blind, but stays at his post as my backup net control, needs to be evacuated. Evacuation arranged ok. Rob WA3IHV calls from his office at Palomar hospital to tell us his family was evacuated OK and horses survived... 

"2100 Tuesday: FIRENET hams drive to Qualcomm Stadium and load trucks with food. Dan leads ham relief convoy with food and supplies to Mira Costa College. Fire victims at shelter express gratitude for first food delivery...

"2350 Wednesday: KG6VVN signs off as net control as the 146.730 repeater runs out of fuel and goes off the air..."

Orange County update: Acting Section Emergency Coordinator Cathy Gardenias, K6VC, provided this update on the situation in the ARRL Orange Section as of October 25: "Slide Fire/Green Valley is 17% contained; Grass Fire is 70% contained. Santiago Canyon Fire was 50% but was reduced last night as it turned and headed for the Riverside County border of the Cleveland National Forest. 

"Amateur Radio operators have been utilized. The San Bernardino County Fire EOC has been using ECS and ARES members in the EOC to monitor communications and other jobs needed. At the command post at the Rim of The World High School near Lake Arrowhead, ECS and ARES members who have been fully trained in all ICS and S190 (bush training) are handling communications and other needs. This is according to Jeff W6JJR DEC for ARES San Bernardino County and a Public Information Officer (Miles) from the EOC in San Bernardino. The EOC is at Level III at this time.

"SATERN [Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network] Amateur Radio operators at all the shelters have been volunteering their time as non communicators, but as helpers for those who are in need."

As of Friday afternoon, CNN reported that 14 of the nearly two dozen fires were under control. Nearly 800 square miles has burned in Southern California, and seven deaths have been blamed on the fires, with dozens of injuries. 

Ron Roberts, Chairman of the San Diego Board of Supervisors estimates that 560,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes, and thousands more were evacuated in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties. 

Firefighters received help from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons. About 7000 firefighters were battling the blazes, including 2300 inmates from California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to Governor Schwarzenegger. 

President Bush visited the area on Thursday and declared a federal emergency for seven counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. FEMA Administrator David Paulison said that the President's action authorizes FEMA to "coordinate all disaster relief efforts, which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety and lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe." Schwarzenegger estimated that at least $75 million in federal aid would be needed. -- Some information from The Weather Channel and CNN



* Oklahoma Hams Assist with Accident Scene: On September 8, Myrna Cobb, KE5IAD, of Bethany, Oklahoma, and Victor Stillman, KE5LQU, of Edmond, Oklahoma, were driving home from an ARES exercise and talking with friends on the K5EOK EARS repeater in Edmond. As they were talking, a car about 150 yards ahead of them on the highway started hydroplaning.

The car skidded into a tractor-trailer, causing caused both vehicles to wreck. Still on the radio, Cobb and Stillman told Frankie Tassone, KE5KQL, about the accident, giving him the accident details. Tassone then contacted the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Cobb and Stillman were able to immediately respond when they pulled up on the scene. Stillman, a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, supplied first aid to the victims while Cobb directed traffic, keeping the scene clear for more than 20 minutes before the Highway Patrol arrived.  - Tnx Mark D. Conklin, N7XYO


==> ARES Members Serve Firefighting Efforts in California 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members are assisting firefighters on the Zaca Fire, in Los Padres National Forest. More than 6500 acres of the forest are affected. The forest stretches across almost 220 miles from the Big Sur Coast in Monterey County to the western edge of Los Angeles County. ARES members from Santa Maria, in Santa Barbara County, are staffing roadblocks at the intersection of Figueroa Mountain Road and SR 154 and at the intersection of Happy Cyn and Baseline Roads. The roadblocks were established at the request of Santa Barbara County Fire Department. 

The fire, which began July 4, is believed to be human caused, according to the US Forest Service. As of now, it is 37 percent contained. The fire has now burned into the San Rafael wilderness, with the north flank of the fire currently burning in heavy, 40 year old fuels with a high dead to live ratio. Fuel moisture levels are extremely low and at a point that is usually not seen until late summer. Humidity is high, hovering at around 78 percent. 

According to Donna Tooth of the US Forest Service, the fire is continuing to back down to the Sisquoc River. Plans are in the works to contain this portion of the fire, preventing it from spreading into areas that have not been burned since 1966. On its eastern side, the fire is burning along the Manzana Creek and has hit a portion of the Marre Fire of 1993. Firefighters are taking advantage of the younger vegetation and are attempting to "turn the corner" by applying direct line construction techniques. Firefighters are holding the fire on the north side of the San Rafael Ridge, south of the Sisquoc River and east of School House Canyon. The fire is threatening the Cody Cabin and the historic Manzana School House. 

Fire commanders say the fire could grow significantly larger in the next
12-24 hours, and project containment will require 14 days or more. 

==> Oklahoma ARES Members Assist with Floods 

Due to record rainfall in June and July in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, many rivers and streams were already swollen or flooding. On July 2, nearly 15 inches of rain fell in southern Kansas, causing widespread flooding and damage and sending torrents of floodwater downstream into northeastern Oklahoma. On July 5, the American Red Cross requested the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) to provide communications support for their damage assessment teams in those flooded areas of Northeast Oklahoma. 

The Caney River, which flows through the city of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 60 miles north of Tulsa, overflowed its banks, causing flood damage to homes and businesses within the city, as well as widespread flooding in the farm lands in other parts of Washington County. In Miami, Oklahoma, 70 miles east of Bartlesville, the Neosho River crested as it snaked in and around the community. Water up to 10 feet deep filled homes and businesses and blocked roads and highways. 

ARES set up a Net Control Station, and Amateur Radio operators equipped with handheld transceivers and magnet mount antennas rode along with each Red Cross Damage assessment team as they surveyed the flood damage in Northeastern Oklahoma. An ARES Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Tulsa, led by Larry Holden, KC5KLM, began the operation and the primary group assisting with the response. Operations to survey to damage began on July 6 in Bartlesville and continued July 7 in Miami. 

The ARES team used the Bartlesville Amateur Radio Club's repeater and set up a temporary repeater in Miami to aid with communications between the teams in the field and the Net Control Station. Jeff Lawson, American Red Cross team leader for the damage assessment teams, praised the ARES team's professional communication work.

==>NEVADA HAM PLAYS ROLE IN RADIO RESCUE

ARRL member Eric Christianson, KE7DZZ, of Reno, Nevada, was just listening to the repeater for background noise May 26, but an emergency call made him sit up and take notice.

"I immediately grabbed the mic and asked 'What's the nature of the emergency?' The guy said that he was in a remote area with a downed motorcycle rider who appeared to have a serious neck injury. He said the injured man couldn't sit up without feeling dizzy."

On the other end of the circuit was Dave Kersting, KF6QQO, of Redondo Beach, California, who'd been out riding his motorcycle with friends that day.  Before he left, Kersting grabbed his 2 meter handheld radio, programmed with some repeater frequencies along their route, and his handheld GPS unit.

"Dave gave me the GPS coordinates of their location, so I called my local 911 dispatch, Washoe County," Christianson said. He relayed the coordinates to the 911 dispatcher, who asked him to remain on in contact with Kersting until EMS arrived at the scene.

"Washoe County couldn't find these guys," Christianson recounted. "It seems Dave's GPS had given the wrong coordinates, but another guy in the group had a GPS, and he got different coordinates. I gave dispatch the new coordinates, and by using them, they found the group."

The new coordinates placed the group inside Mono County, California. Washoe County then called Mono County. About 7:15 PM, a helicopter ambulance, called Christianson on the phone to let him know their pilot was in flight near the area and asked if he had any more details for them. The chopper landed just a few minutes later and transported the injured biker to a local hospital.

An ARES member and a ham for two years, Christianson first became interested in Amateur Radio because he wanted to help people in need. "I normally would have been on 20 meters looking for some DX, but I had the radio on the repeater memory scan just because it was quieter than listening to HF while I worked at my computer," he said. "Thank God for that, I helped to save a life."

"The real hero is Dave, who had the presence of mind to program in local repeater frequencies. The other hero is Amateur Radio. What we do with Amateur Radio is great, and I am so proud to be a part of it."


<b>+ All Hazard Alerting in Norfolk, Virginia</b> The ARES E-Letter April 18, 2007 === Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor

In Norfolk, Virginia, Tidewater Wireless <http://www.W4VB.org> and Norfolk ARES <http://Norfolk-ARES.org> have teamed up to provide a multi-repeater system with linking capabilities and emergency power.  NOAA All Hazard Alerting Devices also directly interface with the repeater systems: One system uses a CATAUTO WX-200 <http://www.catauto.com/wx200.html> and the other system is using a Radio Shack CAT 12-249 <http://radioshack.com>. 

Newer VHF Mobile rigs have the Alerting feature built in, when enabled. Some newer HT's also have the feature. Hand held Alerting Devices are included in ARES members' "To-Go" kits. 

The reason is that NWR broadcasts warnings and post-event information for all types of hazards: weather (e.g., tornadoes, floods), natural (earthquakes, forest fires and volcanic activity), technological (chemical releases, oil spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, etc.), and national emergencies (e.g., terrorist attacks). Working with other Federal agencies and the FCC's Emergency Alert System (EAS), NWR is an all-hazards radio network, making it the most comprehensive weather and emergency information available to the public.
<http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/allhazard.htm> -- Rich Davis, W4NMH, Norfolk CERT, EC Norfolk ARES

* Ham radio volunteers locate missing man: Amateur Radio Emergency Service

(ARES) volunteers in Stanislaus County, California, were able to locate an 82-year-old man suffering from senile dementia who walked away from a residential care facility March 14. Police in Modesto organized a  search for the elderly man, and members of the Stanislaus Amateur Radio Association (SARA) -- an ARRL Special Service Club -- volunteered to help (the club meets at the Modesto Police Department's Northeast Area Substation). One volunteer who had helped locate victims of Hurricane Katrina brought along her search dog. The searchers found the missing man sitting in the driver's seat of a pick-up truck. Modesto police say that while he appeared disoriented, he was in good spirits and shook hands with the volunteers who found him. "We are very thankful for the help our local volunteers provide us in times like these," said Modesto Police Lt Gary Watts, who headed the search. "They are all very dedicated, and we couldn't do it without them."    
-- Modesto Police Department

==>CALIFORNIA RADIO AMATEUR HAS ROLE IN RESCUE AT SEA

A radio amateur from California played a significant part in an international effort to rescue a US sailor attempting to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe. Miguel "Mike" Morales, KC6CYK, of Riverside, told ARRL he was able to contact fellow radio amateurs in Chile to obtain and relay reassuring information to the family of Ken Barnes, whose 44-foot ketch Privateer was foundering off South America. A Chilean trawler, Polar Pesca 1, rescued Barnes from his disabled vessel on January 5. Upon learning of Barnes's predicament on January 2, Morales said he contacted the sailor's fiancée, Cathy Chambers, offering to see if he could make radio contact with Chile.

"She mentioned that the satellite telephone was dying on him over there, so their communication was 30 to 60 seconds at a time," Morales recounted. "I was lucky enough, I got in touch with some of the Charlie Echo [CE-prefix] stations until I got to someone in Punta Arenas, and then Polar Pesca, the vessel that did the rescue." Morales speaks fluent Spanish and has visited Chile and knew "the way things operate down there." As a result, he says, he was able to obtain credible reports via his 10-meter contacts as to what was happening.

Morales said he gathered information from the Polar Pesca 1 via his Chilean ham radio contacts. "I . . . relayed information as to when he [Barnes] was going to be rescued, the latitude and longitude he was at that particular time." Morales said he felt it was important for the family to know Barnes's situation and how the rescue plans were playing out.

Barnes, who's 47, left Long Beach, California, late last October, hoping to be the first person to sail around the world from the West Coast. A severe storm dismasted and badly damaged the vessel and soaked his supplies.

Morales maintains the Chilean Navy wasn't eager to send a military vessel to retrieve Barnes because of the potential costs involved, and, in any case, wanted to put off the rescue until January 7. Even so, the Chilean Navy did dispatch one of the CP3 Orion aircraft Chile uses to patrol its 200-mile-offshore territorial claim. The plane spotted the foundering vessel, photographed it and even attempted to drop a life raft that missed its mark. The Chilean Navy coordinated the operation and recruited the Polar Pesca 1 to undertake the actual rescue, although the US Coast Guard reportedly has agreed to cover the expense, Morales says. At that point he was able to pass along news to the family that the trawler was en route to Barnes's location.

"The main thing is, Ken Barnes is back, is alive," Morales said. "What I did was on behalf of the US ham radio community, I believe. That's what you're there for."

Barnes returned home to California this week, and Morales was among those on hand to welcome him. The City of Riverside has announced plans to honor Morales, who says he's "a very low-key type of person" and not fond of being in the media spotlight. Barnes's family and friends, armed with information Morales provided, tipped off the news media, and Morales was interviewed, photographed and videotaped by reporters from the Los Angeles Times, ABC, CBS, NBC and Telemundo.

<b>NORFOLK ARES GOES TO CITY HALL 7 DEC. 2006</b>

EC, W4NMH and AEC, KO4FR attended a City Communications Meeting to further mutual relations between the City Government and HAM Radio. Public Service Announcements, School Sponsorship, and Norfolk ALERT were some of the programs discussed. 

---------------------

What is Norfolk Alert? 

Norfolk Alert is an innovative solution for improving communications between government agencies, citizens, volunteer organizations and the general public. In addition to editing your contact information, this service allows you to sign up for broadcasts such as: emergency notifications, road closings, inclement weather announcements, and other service related information. At this time information can be distributed to telephones, cell phones, and email. Norfolk Alert is an evolving service.
As we continue to add to the system's offerings, you'll be the first to know. Norfolk Alert is a public service that provides general guidelines and should not be used as the sole source of information during emergencies citizens are urged to listen to local media.  <a href='http://www.norfolk.gov/norfolkalert'> Norfolk Alert</a>

+From the ARRL Letter

<b>=>NEW LAW FORMALIZED AMATEUR RADIO AS PART OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNITY</B>

A section of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2007 Appropriations Act, HR 5441 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.05441:>, formally includes Amateur Radio operators as a part of the emergency communications community. Congress approved the measure before adjourning for its pre-election break. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law October 4.

Amateur Radio is included within the legislation's Subtitle D, Section 671, known as the "21st Century Emergency Communications Act." Radio amateurs are among the entities with which a Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group (RECC Working Group) must coordinate its activities. Included within the DHS's Office of Emergency Communications -- which the measure also creates -- RECC Working Groups attached to each regional DHS office will advise federal and state homeland security officials. The final version of the legislation incorporated language from both House and Senate bills and was hammered out in a conference committee. An earlier version of the 21st Century Emergency Communications Act, HR 5852, included Amateur Radio operators as members of the RECC Working Groups.

In addition to Amateur Radio operators, RECC Working Groups also will coordinate with communications equipment manufacturers and vendors -- including broadband data service providers, local exchange carriers, local broadcast media, wireless carriers, satellite communications services, cable operators, hospitals, public utility services, emergency evacuation transit services, ambulance services, and representatives from other private sector entities and nongovernmental organizations.

The RECC Working Groups will assess the survivability, sustainability and interoperability of local emergency communication systems to meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report. That report would recommend how the US could "accelerate the deployment of interoperable emergency communications nationwide." They also will coordinate the establishment of "effective multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency emergency communications networks" that could be brought into play in an emergency or disaster.

In light of the new legislation, the ARRL plans to follow up to determine how it can interact with the DHS and its Office of Emergency Communications.


==>AMATEUR RADIO FILLS COMMUNICATION GAP DURING WEEKEND FLOODING

When telephone and Internet service in Kentucky fell victim to flooding over the September 22-24 weekend, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams took over to bridge the communication gap. Kentucky ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Ron Dodson, KA4MAP, says the deluge, the product of up to nearly 10 inches of rain in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, resulted in states of emergency in 19 Kentucky counties and 12 cities, including Frankfort, the capital. Dodson says the high water, which evoked memories of severe flooding in March 1997, left at least 10 dead and many others homeless. 

"All phone communications to the state emergency operations center (EOC) went down as early as 2 AM Saturday, returned and then went out a second time around 5 AM," Dodson reports. Emergency managers contacted Dodson to activate the Kentucky Emergency Net on 3.993.5 MHz to provide support communication between the EOC and Kentucky's 120 counties.

Dodson says telephone service in the EOC came back around mid-morning on September 23, although the Kentucky Emergency Net remained in operation as heavy rainfall began in western Kentucky. 

"Within minutes, Shelby Ennis, W8WN, in Hardin County reported via the K4ULW 146.625 repeater that all telephone service, including the Hardin County E-911 facility, had gone down," Dodson said. "Cell phones soon overloaded and also shut down, basically stranding the whole county without outside contact except via Amateur Radio." He explained that conventional telephone systems failed in Hardin County because the provider had installed all its systems in a basement area that flooded.

For the next several hours, Dodson said, communication between the state EOC and Hardin County took place via the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society's KY4KY 146.700 repeater in Brooks. "The American Red Cross headquarters in Louisville also used this machine to communicate with their shelter and Hardin County emergency management," Dodson said. While the KY4KY repeater supported command-and-control communication, other operations took place via the W4BEJ 146.98 repeater in Elizabethtown and the neighboring K4ULW 146.625 repeater in Meade County.

Communications Supervisor Bob Stephens, WA4CMO, of the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs said the Kentucky Emergency Management command vehicle was positioned adjacent to the state EOC to provide communication on both Amateur Radio and MARS frequencies. Pat Compton, KF4FMZ, and Bull Uschan, K4MIS, staffed the Amateur Radio side, while Richard Howe, KB5WCH, represented the Civil Air Patrol during the Saturday operation, which continued for several hours.

"We operated all systems during the afternoon and provided critical communication between the EOC and Hardin and Meade counties," Stephens reported.

The American Red Cross summoned members of ARES District 6 -- the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro area -- to assist with damage assessments and to maintain communication with the Hardin County shelter operation. According to Jefferson County Emergency Coordinator John Hesse, KF4IZS, those operations continued on Sunday as additional damage assessment details deployed in Louisville and in Fisherville in Spencer County.

The Franklin County Chapter of the American Red Cross also contacted Woodford County EC Jerry Mueller, KC4WZO, Sunday morning seeking Amateur Radio volunteers to support communication in the flooded Millville area. "The Red Cross had three disaster relief teams in the Millville area, and cell phone communication was not reliable," Dodson said. 

Paul Harrington, KB4ENQ, Rob Hutchinson, KI4ODT, and Mueller responded, joined by Compton from the Capitol Amateur Radio Society. Hutchinson and Compton went to Millville for several hours to provide communication for the Red Cross and to help deliver meals, drinks, ice and supplies. Harrington and Mueller remained at the Red Cross Chapter to handle net duties in case communication assistance was needed in another area. 

Dodson said Stephens told him afterward that Kentucky Adjutant General Lt Gen Donald Storm and Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Maj Gen Maxwell Bailey "were pleased with the way Amateur Radio functioned in providing communication when all else failed. They extend their thanks to those amateurs who gave of themselves in this effort."

+ LETTERS: HTs, BUT NO HELMETS

Brevard County, Florida -- During a recent county disaster drill, responders were expected to arrive on the scene ready for deployment. Fire responders showed up in full fire gear, Police in full police gear, CERT members with appropriate gear including helmet, orange safety vest, long pants, shirt, heavy shoes, gloves, face mask, flashlight, as well as HT, and necessary tools. Our ARES members showed up only with their HT, with some in shorts, sandals, no head gear nor uniform/identification of any kind. 

ARES responders need to meet the same equipment standards as Fire, Police and CERT personnel. Had ARES members attending our mock drill arrived and reported for an actual event, they wouldn't have been deemed prepared and likely would be sent to NIMS-IC "camp" for training. ARES/ARRL needs to develop gear standards. ARES personnel need to arrive on the emergency site ready to be deployed. Prepared for deployment means ARES members having more than the clothing on their backs and an HT (with only one set of batteries) in their hand!
-- Lyle Schultz, KI4MYT, ki4myt@cfl.rr.com  Titusville, Florida

When we write like a third-grader, we will be perceived as a third-grader and our ideas received on that level. So, think of writing a personal letter or e-mail to your boss or someone you want to impress. Take some time to write properly. And when you are invited to that next meeting, as a result of well written correspondence, dress appropriately.
-- Jimmy Bishop, W4CYF

+ VIRGINA ARES GROUP'S "PROJECT WHERE?"

Under the leadership of "cool EC" Alan Bosch, KO4ALA, the Arlington, Virginia ARES collected the latitude and longitude of local shelter locations during shelter communications checks. Coordinates were badly needed by hams responding to Hurricane Katrina. James Olson, W4JO, wrote: "Most useful equipment that I wish I had brought was a GPS receiver with detailed mapping display. With road signs missing, the GPS could find your way. This would also be especially helpful if the Red Cross were to give us the GPS coordinates of the shelters that we were heading out to serve."

Bosch has now started "Project Where?" to collect the coordinates of other locations including hospitals, and nursing homes, and then exchanging this information with other local ARES groups.

To get the coordinates for the local Red Cross chapter, school, shelter, Salvation Army unit, and others, search the name in the Geographical Names Information System (GNIS) database: geonames.usgs.gov . To find the coordinates of the Red Cross chapter, for example, go to the geonames homepage, select "Domestic Names," then select "search GNIS" and enter "Red Cross" into the GNIS database as the "feature name." Next enter the name of the state and county. The database will return the appropriate coordinates along with the elevation of that feature and the name of the USGS 1:24,000 topographic map for that location. -- k9auc@arrl.net Jim Hastings, K9AUC</a> 



Sincerely, Rich - W4NMH

The ARRL Material is published by the American Radio Relay League
--The National Association For Amateur Radio-- 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111;
tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President. 
[This is only an excerpt of the ARRL Material]
Virginia Section Traffic Nets