The ARRL Letter, Vol 24, No 35 Excerpts*************** IN THIS EDITION:
AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS FILLING COMMUNICATION GAPS IN GULF REGION Hundreds of Amateur Radio operators from the Gulf Coast and elsewhere in the US continue to volunteer their skills and expertise as the Hurricane Katrina relief effort heads into its third week. ARRL Section Managers (SMs) and Section Emergency Coordinators (SECs) across and around the affected region have been teleconferencing daily to keep their efforts on the same page. In the field, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and other volunteers are assisting as needed to support communication for relief agencies as well as for state and local government and even the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Louisiana SEC Gary Stratton, K5GLS, says Amateur Radio was the only means for state officials at the state emergency operations center (EOC) in Baton Rouge to communicate earlier this week with the so-called "Florida parishes" above Lake Pontchartrain. "We have had praise from one end of Louisiana to the other about Amateur Radio operators," Stratton said. "There was a communication to the EOC in Baton Rouge from FEMA that said, 'Ham radio is our prime communications with you, and they should get anything they need,' so FEMA recognizes the importance of ham radio." He also recounted how state officials arriving at the EOC were using ham radio to get through to their hard-hit parishes. A marshaling center has been established in Covington, Louisiana. ARES has been continuing to support Red Cross shelter and Southern Baptist Convention debris-clearing in St Tammany parish, as well as Baptist Men's Kitchen canteen operations. In Washington Parish, ARES volunteers--including more than a dozen from South Texas--have been providing critical communication among hospitals and the parish EOC, among other functions. Field teams were continuing to use HF to maintain communication with the EOC in Baton Rouge. Stratton, who's temporarily handed over his SEC duties to former Louisiana SM Al Oubre, K5SDG, said that while things are going along okay right now, he foresees a need for additional operators down the road, once closed areas are reopened. "One of the biggest problems we're going to have is relief for the operators who have been down there [in the affected parishes]," he said. "New Orleans is, of course, our next thrust, and we're going to have to have to staff recovery efforts down there, but it'll be a different kind of recovery effort," Stratton predicted. "We'll be supporting the EOC in Baton Rouge with temporary communications until the National Guard can get in." Stratton said Amateur Radio has even had to loan some government agencies their communication gear because their own didn't function. "It's been an eye-opener to me operating in the EOC down there how terribly their equipment operates," he said. In Mississippi, ARES operators have been helping to maintain communication among hospitals, EOCs and shelters. ARES District Emergency Coordinator Tom Hammack, W4WLF, reported operators were sleeping on the floor when off duty. State RACES Officer and ARES DEC Ron Brown, AB5WF, was setting up a staging area for Amateur Radio volunteers near the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in Jackson. SECs in the US Gulf advise volunteers signing up for duty in the hurricane-stricken zones to coordinate with their home SECs and, once given the go-ahead, arrive as self-sufficient as possible. "If you need it, you bring it," advised Alabama SEC Jay Isbell, KA4KUN. Volunteers have come from all over the US. Isbell said each Red Cross feeding unit was turning out 25,000 to 30,000 meals a day. "They still need communication," he said. Local amateurs in the affected areas were handling some of the tactical communication on VHF. A staging area in Montgomery, Alabama, continues to process and orient Amateur Radio volunteers for American Red Cross and other duty in Louisiana and Mississippi. Some volunteers will help support communication at Red Cross shelters set up for evacuees, while others will provide tactical communication for feeding stations or for emergency management. Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, has been coordinating ham radio volunteers at the Montgomery site. Norm North Jr, WA1DBR, of Arkansas, was deployed to a Red Cross shelter in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he managed to squeeze in some health-and-welfare messages among the emergency traffic. North says typical requests included pleas from mothers trying to find missing children, youngsters looking for parents and other trying to get word to families and loved ones that they'd survived the storm and were at the shelter. "Many messages got through," North said, "and I received many thanks and hugs." As conventional telecommunications starts coming back to life, traffic has been slowing on the major regional HF emergency net--the West Gulf ARES Emergency Net on 7.285 MHz days and 3.873 MHz nights. As a result, the net announced September 9 that it would secure routine operation at 0600 UTC September 10. An open net will be maintained on 3.862 MHz after that. West Gulf ARES Emergency Net Manager Lee Franks, N5FP (ex-AD5IS), says the net passed traffic as recently as September 7 about a man trapped in an attic in Arabi [Louisiana]. "We're still getting a trickle of messages like this," he said earlier this week. "As communications are reestablished via landline and VHF-UHF links in that area, there has been less demand on our net--but I'd call it an absolute, tremendous success what we have done." There's more information on Amateur Radio's Hurricane Katrina response on the ARRL Web site. ARRL HEADQUARTERS RESPONDING TO HURRICANE KATRINA ON SEVERAL FRONTS As the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina's devastation in human terms became evident along the US Gulf Coast, activities at ARRL Headquarters ramped up into crisis mode. The immediate challenges were many and seemed to multiply by the minute. Under the leadership of ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B--an experienced Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Emergency Coordinator--and Special Assistant to the CEO Dave Patton, NN1N, ARRL staff members mustered to focus their energies on responding to the needs of ham radio volunteers. Kramer says the overarching goal at ARRL Headquarters has been to support its Field Organization of ARES and other volunteers. "Their main job is to support the served agencies, such as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, FEMA," Kramer said. "Because this is over such a widespread area, a lot of the Amateur Radio infrastructure in that area got destroyed, so we're having to bring in operators from further out--as well as equipment." With a lack of communication cited as the largest obstacle to rescue and relief efforts, ARES members--with support from Headquarters--began bridging the gap immediately. The sheer size of the geographical region affected by the disaster and the dearth of communication put ARRL Headquarters in the somewhat unusual role of serving as a clearing house for various aspects of the response. Activities include helping to recruit volunteers, coordinating equipment donations, and working with regulatory agencies and the news media. A daily conference call has brought together Headquarters personnel and Section Managers (SMs) and Section Emergency Coordinators (SECs) from the affected region to provide situation reports, compare notes and request any assistance they need from ARRL Headquarters. "We don't normally have to do that much support for the Field Organization," Kramer pointed out. ARRL has been receiving donations and offers of equipment and services for use in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Some two dozen members of the Amateur Radio industry and individual radio amateurs have contributed gear. The donations were made as gifts to ARRL, which is redirecting these resources as needed to the disaster zone. Some donors have offered valuable services and supplies. "The ARRL would like to thank everyone who has generously donated Amateur Radio equipment, accessories and supplies," said Kramer. Some of the equipment already on hand has been or soon will be deployed to assist relief agencies such as the American Red Cross as well as state and local emergency managers, he said. Key ARRL staff members have been meeting on a daily basis--including over the Labor Day holiday weekend--to help keep track of events and relief-related initiatives as they progress. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, ARRL Headquarters employees volunteered to staff Maxim Memorial Station W1AW around the clock and to keep telephone (860-594-0200) and e-mail communication open <[email protected]>. The activity at W1AW also provided a focal point for local news media. On more than one occasion, TV crews showed up at HQ for a story about how Amateur Radio was doing its part in the disaster. Major "media hits" included a favorable article in the Wall Street Journal September 6. Another turned up on MSNBC's Web site, and a third on the Computerworld Web site. ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, volunteered to head into the hurricane strike zone. He checked in at the American Red Cross ham radio support volunteer center in Montgomery, Alabama, on September 6. Motschenbacher has a complete HF station as well as sufficient supplies to stay in the field for a couple of weeks. He was expected to be deployed to help in Mississippi. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, also has headed to Montgomery to coordinate with national news media there. "VOLUNTEERS NEEDED" CLEARING HOUSE NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS The Hurricane Katrina Amateur Radio Volunteers Needed Clearing House now is live on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/agencies/>. This database will be the primary means for relief organizations requiring Amateur Radio volunteers for communication support to list their needs. Additionally, volunteers looking to help may search the listings to match up their capabilities with the various requirements. "The purpose of this ARRL Web tool is to make it easier on both the agency in need, and the Amateur Radio operator to find matches to fill various requirements," said ARRL Special Assistant to the CEO Dave Patton, NN1N. "We have rapidly learned that during regional and national disasters such as that resulting from Katrina, bottlenecks and bureaucracy slow down responses to aid requests. This tool should help the Field Organization cope." Representatives of relief organizations or served agencies can post their communications requirements on this site for Amateur Radio operators to see. Patton asked organizations lacking a volunteer coordinator who is familiar with Amateur Radio to indicate in the "needs" section that they're looking for an Amateur Radio volunteer coordinator in addition to radio operators. Relief agencies seeking Amateur Radio volunteers will be asked to enter basic information about their organizations and their needs, including specific locations in the disaster area. The League anticipates making the Volunteers Needed database available in the future when groups may need the services of Amateur Radio volunteers to supplement or provide emergency or public service communication. "If you are an Amateur Radio operator wishing to volunteer, use the search engine on the site to find listings of agencies that are looking for your help," Patton added. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of Joe Tomasone, AB2M, the League has been using the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Communications Volunteer Registration and Message Traffic Database he developed as its primary site for prospective Amateur Radio volunteers to offer their services in the current disaster. On behalf of the ARRL, Patton expressed appreciation for Tomasone's prompt response to fill this need on short notice. ARRL URGES EMPLOYERS TO BE FLEXIBLE IN LEAVE TIME FOR VOLUNTEERS The ARRL is calling on employers of Amateur Radio operators who volunteer to assist in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort to be able to take off from work without penalty. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, says volunteers need some kind of assurance that they won't be jeopardizing their jobs if they step forward to assist along the US Gulf Coast, where they could be deployed for a week or longer. He said the League is urging employers that have not already done so to take the opportunity to recognize the significance of the emergency and the importance of what Amateur Radio volunteers are doing to help alleviate suffering in the disaster zone. "What we're asking employers to do is to have some compassion for the people in the disaster area," he said. "If they've got an employee who has the training and skills of an Amateur Radio operator, please allow that person to take some time off to contribute to this relief effort." Haynie further suggested that employers might contemplate offering their employees who serve as Amateur Radio volunteers in the Hurricane Katrina response either paid leave or compensatory time. "An employer can consider this one way to make a contribution to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort--if not monetary at least by letting those workers who are Amateur Radio volunteers to contribute their time and talents in the field." IN BRIEF:
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, 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; <http://www.arrl.org>. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President. |