Amateur radio swings into action in
storm-stricken gulf region
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams were ready and waiting as
Hurricane Ivan devastated entire sections of the US Gulf Coast early September
16. Packing 115 mph winds as it made landfall, Ivan zeroed in on the Mobile
Bay area of Alabama, but because of its huge girth, the storm
wrought widespread death and destruction in the Florida Panhandle and
also affected Mississippi. Below-sea-level New Orleans was spared major
flooding, however. Alabama Section Emergency Coordinator Jay Isbell, KA4KUN,
said ham radio has been helping relief agencies, especially in the
hard-hit southernmost counties.
"Right now the adrenaline's still up," he said September 16
of volunteers staffing a statewide ARES communication network - an HF net
with liaisons to local repeaters and including all of the state's emergency
operations centers. "Most everybody south of us is operating on emergency
power."
In Baldwin and Mobile counties - which straddle Mobile Bay - telephone
service was out, so ham radio was providing a substantial communication
link, Isbell said. "We're giving their messages priority." Most
traffic has been logistical - requests for shelter cots, tarpaulins and
generators - "but they've also asked for three four-wheel drive vehicles
and a helicopter for search and rescue as well as damage assessment,"
he said.
ARES teams along the Gulf have been providing communication support for
the Red Cross, The Salvation Army and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
organization. ARES already is assisting with damage assessment activity,
for the first time using Global Positioning System units and computerized
mapping as an aid.
ARRL Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, praised Isbell's efforts and said
he's proud of Alabama's radio amateurs. "Many amateurs stepped up
to provide communications and assistance," he said. "Several
amateurs traveled to Southern Alabama before Ivan to help get ready for
the hurricane." He said others traveled to the Mobile area to help
emergency
managers "and people they don't even know."
In Northern Florida, Western Panhandle ARES District Emergency Coordinator
Bill Hayden, WY8O, reported damage assessment was under way in Okaloosa
County, where the storm took out several repeaters and telephone service.
In southern Santa Rosa County, massive flooding and several fatalities
were reported, and refugees were forced to take shelter. In Escambia County,
five shelters and four hospitals sustained storm damage, and several people
died. The hurricane destroyed the Interstate 10 bridge connecting Escambia
and Santa Rosa counties, cutting off residents and relief workers alike.
At week's end, Northern Florida Section Traffic Manager Dale Sewell,
N4SGQ, was working up a list of relief personnel and waiting on how to
get them into the affected area. "Having lived in Pensacola for 35
years, I know the complications of being surrounded on so many sides by
water," Sewell said. "I just never imagined that all the routes
would be cut off
simultaneously." He said Escambia County was left virtually without
power, which utilities say could take three weeks to restore.
In Mississippi, ARRL SM Malcolm Keown, W5XX, reported that outside of
some "significant interference" the West Gulf ARES Net operation
went smoothly. Most traffic was tactical, he said, to help the Red Cross
with needed equipment and supplies. The net, on 7285 and 3873 kHz, operates
in
accordance with a memorandum of understanding among the ARRL Louisiana,
Mississippi and South Texas sections.
Keown says ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, stepped in to restore the
fallen dipole antenna of West Gulf ARES Net National Traffic System Coordinator
Carolyn Womack, KC5OZT, who's also North Texas Section Traffic Manager.
"He went over and fixed it, and by 4 o'clock she was back on the
air, so chalk one up for the ARRL president!" Keown said.
The Hurricane Watch Net
(HWN) on 14.325 MHz secured operations for Hurricane Ivan September
16, but only to take another breather before an anticipated reactivation
for Hurricane Jeanne in a few days. The nearly continuous activations
over the past four weeks have taken a toll on HWN members, HWN Manager
Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, told ARRL, and several were affected by storm-related
damage.
The HWN coordinates its activities with WX4NHC
at the National Hurricane Center to gather real-time ground-level weather
data and damage reports from Amateur Radio volunteers in a storm's path
and relay these to forecasters. This hurricane season WX4NHC has been
taking advantage of IRLP and EchoLink via the new VOIPWX
Net, which also provides streaming audio.
The Salvation Army Team
Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) on 14.265 MHz has been handling health-and-welfare
inquiries in the wake of the recent round of hurricanes. The net also
handles emergency communications from storm-affected areas. SATERN also
takes health-and-welfare inquiries via its Web site.
The National Weather Service was warning areas still in the path of the
remnants of Hurricane Ivan that they could be in for heavy rainfall and
possible tornadoes.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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