The Hurricanes Continue

[Fred_Vobbe]

RESCUE RADIO: THE HURRICANES CONTINUE
Script from Amateur Radio Newsline

First Katrina. Now Rita. The hurricane season continues as does the role of Amateur Radio in providing emergency communications. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramovich, NT3V, is here with the latest chapter in this continuing story:

--

As we take air with our weekly broadcast, Hurricane Rita is the new menace on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. Forecasters fear the storm will have the same kind of punch delivered by Hurricane Katrina just a few weeks ago.

Hundreds of thousands have left their homes, heading north to escape the threat. Few have stayed behind, this time, to weather the storm. They've learned from Katrina - that can have deadly consequences.

Already, there is a call-up for amateur radio operators and Joseph Tomasone, AB2M, the ham who coordinated the database for Katrina relief operators has been asked to set up a separate list for the aftermath of Rita.

Joe, lives in Tampa, Florida, and is a technical specialist for the West Central Florida section of the American Radio Relay League.

"I've been requested to set up a database for Rita which I have done which is at http”//rita.ab2m.net. It just went live as a matter of fact and we are now setting up the Section Emergency Coordinators and Section Managers to be able to query that database," says Tomasone.

"The League has made mention of it on their most current item concerning ARES and RACES preparedness for Hurricane Rita. That will be a separate database from Hurricane Katrina which we thought was a better idea for a number of reason.

"More to keep information fresh and to allow those who did not necessarily want to respond for Hurricane Rita - perhaps they had already done enough time during Hurricane Katrina and had to turn attention to other matters that they wouldn't be automatically considered signed up."

Tomasone says he know volunteers are eager to get on board and explains what they need to do.

"They simply go to the web page and click on the registration link, they'll fill out a form that includes information about who they are which it will pull from the FCC database, if possible, what equipment they have, what capabilities they possess," Tomasone says.

"It will be updated to ask if they are intending to deploy to the field or if they intend to stay in their own locations and perhaps pass health and welfare traffic. It will also ask them for contact information, email address, phone numbers and once that's done that's entered into the database.
"Then, essentially, the volunteer's done everything they need to do."

And, after that?

"Now what will happen is that when a need comes up the database will be queried and those who are handling scheduling will look over that database, find someone who meets the qualifications for that need and give that particular ham a call or send an email and see about scheduling them for deployment," Tomasone says.

Bob Josuweit, an assistant ARRL Section Manager for Eastern Pennsylvania and CQ magazine's public service editor, says operators who want to go should consider the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.

"Word did go out from the Texas local ARES coordinators indicating that mission assignments could be dangerous and you had to be prepared to go into the affected areas," Josuweit warns.

Tomasone says based on stories of volunteerism in the wake of Katrina, he's optimistic many operators will step forward to help. He says it's clear many have a big heart and a desire to help.

"We have a number of people who have responded and said: 'I'm available anytime you need me.' We had one amateur who is wheel-chair bound who said: 'You know what, I'm wheel-chair bound but I can get down there, I don't need any special treatment as long as I can be transported to the site. I can maneuver myself around over whatever terrain presents itself and I'm ready, willing and eager to help,' " Tomasone says.

Josuweit says despite the back-to-back callups for amateur radio operators, he's confident the response will meet the needs.

"I think they will be enough people ready to respond, it'll be a little bit further west and people from the West will be able to come in and help out," Josuweit says. "Obviously a lot of people are going to be tired and worn out, but in the traditional spirit of the amateur radio service, we'll get the volunteers."

A footnote to those volunteers: Be aware that a number of amateur radio equipment outlets have been pretty busy trying to fill the requests for HTs and other 2-meter and 440 gear for operators going into the Katrina disaster zone.

We received an e-mail from one listener who told us that he stopped at KComm in San Antonio and had a hard time getting what he wanted. He said the store told him it was out of stock of several items because of sales to folks going in to provide emergency communications. We called the store and spoke with a clerk who acknowledged it's been busy, but he assured us KComm and other dealers still have gear and accessories or can get their hands on it pretty quickly.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.

--

According to the National Weather Service the hurricane season continues through November. It also says that there is no way to tell how many named tropical storms will spring to life before it ends. This means that hams involved in proving emergency communications could be very busy for some time to come. (ARNewsline)

[Fred_Vobbe]

I'll be anchoring A.R.N. this weekend. Here's one of the stories.



Fred: Ham radio is on alert as another weather related emergency coming its way. This as a tropical storm named Wilma decides to target the U-S mainland. We have more in this report:

--

Anyone who predicts weather will tell you that hurricanes are unpredictable. And it’s beginning to look as if hurricane Wilma is one of those storms.

In a four hour period on Tuesday the 18th, Wilma went from a Tropical Depression to a record setting category 5 hurricane before slowing its warm water trek and dropping to a category 4 as it approached Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It was then expected to cross the Gulf of Mexico heading East-North-East and plow into Florida’s West coast. The only unanswered questions are exactly where Wilma wold hit and how strong a storm she will be when she makes landfall on U-S mainland soil.

Hams are in a state of preparedness all across Wilma’s expected path, but nowhere is there more activity than at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The center is the home of station WX4NHC and an active participant in the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz. Hams involved in the net assist forecasters by radioing in ground-level weather reports and other data from across the affected region. Other ham radio reports come into the center using Voice over I-P technology form IRLP band Echolink conference servers far removed the path of the storm.

Also o the ready are ARES groups the length of the state. These volunteers will man will man any venue asking communications assistance. This includes places like evacuation shelters, hospitals, rest homes and transportation centers to name only a few. Hams will likely be dispatched to police and fire stations and county Emergency Operations Centers as a precaution should the phone lines fail.

And if Wilma hits with even near the ferocity that it has already exhibited, communications failures are likely. We’ll let you know next week.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reporting.

---- 2nd story -----

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS STILL NEEDED IN BILOXI MS.

Ham radio related emergency communications related to Hurricane Katrina may be winding in most places, but not in Mississippi:

--

Moorefield: “We still need operators in Mississippi so have the people check with their Ewmergency Coordinator or with the ARRL”

--

Ron Moorefiled, W8ILC, filed that request from the Hurricane Center in the city of Biloxi that was hard hit by Katrina. He says that ham radio is still the focal point of communications into and out of the storm ravaged area:

--

Moorefield: “We are extremely busy. 12 hour days, 7 days a week and Ill tell you that its really something down here. The destruction is just out of this world”

--

If you want to volunteer to help out in the Biloxi area, the best way is to sign up at the special ARES website hosted by Joe Tomasone, AB2M.. It can be found in cyberspace at http://katrina.ab2m.net (ARNewsline™)