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Blackout in the N.E. Now that the power is back in the North East, it would be a benefit for all emergency coordinators to look at the situation with an eye for solutions were this kind of power breakdown to occur in our section. The number one thing we can all do is to get prepared before hand. The Red Cross has a good page on "Rolling Blackouts" and how to prepare. The following review of problems arising from the recent power outage is significant. As you read through these items, you can ask yourself how you would be affected by such an incident. The items names just scratched the surface of items affected. I have added a few to the end of the list coming from other sources. It does demonstrate that our basic infrastructure depends on electrical power. A CIP Review of the Power Outage A review of the recent major power outage from a critical infrastructure protection (CIP) perspective seems appropriate for the consideration of the leaders of communities and their emergency responders. An examination of national news sources during the last several days reveals that particular critical infrastructures upon which first responders depend were partially degraded by the blackout. The following summary offers some brief insights into lessons-learned at several locations of the nation. 9-1-1 Systems: *The extraordinary volume of calls created tremendous backlogs. *Calling volume spikes sometimes caused callers to encounter fast busy signals. *Many computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) systems stopped working. *9-1-1 operators resorted to handwriting notes for distribution to first responders. *Some locations had backup systems and some did not. *Battery backup power usually did not last more than a few hours. *Responses or dispatches to the callers were occasionally delayed. Hard-Wire and Wireless Telephone Service: *Generally, hard-wire or landlines continued to work. *More sophisticated landline equipment sometimes failed without electrical power. *The wireless or cellular network depends on a consistent flow of electricity. *Cellular transmitter stations failed when their battery backup power was exhausted. *Some cellular service was interrupted by extremely high caller volume. Backup Power Generators: *Numerous backup generators support vital security and cooling systems. *Some generators made the transition to backup power simple and fast. *Generators at some locations were either not available or not functioning. *Those not tested on "full load" for more than two hours were prone to fail. *Those not routinely serviced and maintained are an unreliable source of power. *Several operational generators simply ran out of fuel with no reserve supply. Water Supply: *Municipal water/sewerage departments cannot clean water without power. *Without power, pumps could not spread water through local systems. *Millions of people lost water shortly after the pumps stopped. *Backup power was frequently unavailable to keep pumps operating. *The loss of water and/or pressure necessitated alternative action by firefighters. - - - - - - - - - - - - From the EM list came other items that we can take note of: *2.5M dairy cattle were within a few hours of their daily routine milking and without electricity to power the machines, the dairies were immediately facing a monumental crisis. *Those nice automatic toilet flush valves in building don't work without electricity. Rest rooms quickly become contaminated with waste build up. *Some pay telephones were not affected. However, they could not process credit or calling card calls that scan a card. *Several cities water purification systems became risk items when standing water could not be pressurized for purification. Those cities went into a mandatory 'boil water' order for 48 hours after the blackout. *It was estimated that 90% of all business could not transact business without electricity for several reasons. Large chain stored such as Wal-Mart had to close because of inventory control problems. They cannot transact business manually since all transaction depend upon bar-codes to do sales. There is something to be said for basic communications. It is estimated that well over half of the POTS (plain old telephone systems) with both dial and touch-tone capabilities, remained usable throughout the blackout since those older systems were designed to run for several days under emergency power. So, when you are tempted to buy the latest and greatest new gadget, remind yourself that the more complex the system, the greater the chances of it not working when the pressure is on. Even Nextel's claimed 'bullet-proof' walkie-talkie technology trunking radios failed without power to run their sites.... Let's learn by these problems and pursue ways that we can be most helpful at these times. As I have always said, there is great value in the the simple, low tech point-to-point capabilities of the amateur radio system and skilled operators. 73, Paul Cavnar - NN7B NNV DEC/OES
From: www.arrl.org
Hams a Bright Spot During Power Blackout
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 15, 2003--
When a blip on the electricity distribution grid August 14 took out power to at least a half dozen states in the eastern US, many Amateur Radio operators were ready and able to provide whatever assistance they could. Hardest hit were metropolitan areas like New York City, Detroit and Cleveland. In New York, residents and commuters found themselves stranded in electricity-dependent elevators and subway or rail cars while visitors ended up stuck at airports, which were forced to shut down. With the cellular telephone system overloaded or out altogether, the incident turned into a test of Amateur Radio's capabilities to operate without commercial power.
"It was a good drill," said New York City-Long Island Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Carrubba, KA2D. But, he adds, it was a cautionary tale too. "The lesson is that everybody gets a little complacent," he said. "Have emergency power backup and make sure it's working!" Some repeaters in the blacked-out Greater New York City area--including the primary 147.000 "TAC 2" machine--were down, but several others remained on the air with emergency power.
By and large, Carrubba said, the system worked according to plan, and ARES members did what they were trained to do. "It's going to show the worth of Amateur Radio," he said of the blackout response. "There were people on the air immediately."
Diane Ortiz, K2DO, the Public Information Coordinator for NYC-Long Island was one of them. When power went down in her Suffolk County community, she started up an informal net on the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club's 146.85 repeater. Over the next 20 hours or so, the net passed approximately 500 pieces of what Ortiz described as largely "health-and-welfare traffic." A lot of it was on behalf of individuals stuck in the city and needing to contact family members.
"People are getting on and helping," she said. In addition to handling messages, amateurs also relayed useful information, such as which stores or filling stations were open and operating. Many radio and TV stations went dark as a result of the power failure, and hams were able to help fill the information void, Ortiz said.
In the Big Apple itself, ARES New York City-Long Island District Emergency Coordinator Charles Hargrove, N2NOV, remained at the city's Red Cross Headquarters in Manhattan, where power was restored around 5 AM. "There are some power fluctuations going on, and that is the main concern right now--that power may go off again," Hargrove told ARRL.
ARES support of Red Cross operations, which began yesterday (Thursday, 14 August), continues. ARES teams are providing communication for the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) set up at main transportation centers in Manhattan--Grand Central Station, Penn Station and at the Port Authority Terminal. ARES members also accompanied ERVs called into action to follow New York Fire Department personnel on more than two dozen fire calls. "After a long night of operations, some ARES members went home to get some rest around 6 AM," Hargrove said.
RACES organizations activated in most Greater New York City area counties after a state of emergency was declared. Some ARES teams--including a few across the Hudson River in New Jersey--activated or remained on standby to help if called upon. In New Jersey, a net set up on a back-up repeater established communication with the Red Cross lead chapter's N2ARC in Princeton--staffed by members of Mercer County ARES/RACES--and other New Jersey ARC chapters.
The state of emergency included five counties in northern New Jersey, said SEC Steve Ostrove, K2SO. He spent about four hours at the EOC in Elizabeth after the blackout began. "The Elizabeth Police were impressed with the information I was able to provide," he said. The net stood down at about 10 PM after telephone communication among the Red Cross chapters had been reestablished and power began to be restored.
In upstate New York, Fred Stevens, K2FRD, says the situation reminded him of the 1964 power blackout in the eastern US. "This is an emergency communicator's wildest fantasy: a major power outage in which we can demonstrate our preparedness," he said. In his county, Chenango, ARES has been activated and the local EOC is staffed by Amateur Radio operators and the Chenango Amateur Radio Emergency Service net is up and running with stations on battery power and standing by. "We are ready for whatever might happen," Stevens said.
Comments posted on the HamsEF reflector by Ken Davis, KB2KFV, who's president of the Rensselaer, New York, County ARES/RACES Club reflected that attitude. "It seems that the amateurs were better prepared than the government sector," he said. "Amateurs in this area were up and on the air before there was any response from local government." Davis said Rensselaer County EC and Chief RACES Officer Jim Noble, K2ZP, activated ARES and mustered a net on the Troy Radio Club RACES repeater, requesting stations to standby and monitor the frequency for updates.
Michigan and Ohio
Michigan Section Manager Dale Williams, WA8EFK, reports scattered ARES activations in his state. Williams, who lives in Dundee south of Detroit, was without power this morning and relying on his emergency generator. "It could be another 48 hours before power is restored," he said. Some ARES teams in Michigan were providing assistance to emergency operations centers and to the Red Cross, because the relief agency's telephone system relies on commercial power. Nets have been brought up on both HF and VHF frequencies.
In Ohio, Section Emergency Coordinator Larry Rain, WD8IHP, reports that all ARES organizations in northern Ohio were activated after the power grid went down. Still going strong are ARES teams in Cleveland and Akron--both still without power. "ARES is handling communication support for Ohio Emergency Management in the affected cities and communities," Rain said. Power has been restored in Toledo, however.
Rain reports a power surge that occurred when the electricity came back on disrupted the Richland County Hospital's telephone system. "Amateur Radio was there to provide back-up communication until 4:30 this morning," he said. Ohio VHF and UHF nets and the Ohio SSB net on HF have been handling blackout-related traffic.
Nancy Hall, KC4IYD--who lives 20 miles west of Cleveland--said she's glad of two things: That she had taken the ARRL Emergency Communications Level I class, and that she and her husband have an emergency generator. "We used it to run the fridge for about two hours and then used it to run the 2-meter rig and HF rig to listen to the ARES nets," she said. Hall said she just received a follow-up survey on the emergency communications class that asked if she had used any of the information she learned. "I can now say, 'yes,'" said Hall, who noted that she's now signed up for the Level II class." I will again highly recommend them to anyone who wants to learn more about emergency communication. "She and her husband also made use of their BayGen windup radio to listen to local broadcasts. "We also own a hand-crank flashlight," Hall added. She said the family put aside drinking water early in the blackout--which turned out to be a good thing, because their community's emergency generator was only good for about two hours to run the water supply's pumps. "I have to say that being a ham and knowing about emergency preparedness did make life easier for me and my family," Hall said.
New England
New England states were far less affected by the blackout since most operate on an altogether different power grid than the one that failed. New England area ARES/RACES operators were in standby mode after the blackout rippled through the system to the South and West. Only Connecticut and sections of Western Massachusetts reported significant outages, and ARES nets activated in both states.
ARRL Eastern Massachusetts PIC Jim Duarte, N1IV, reports the ARES/RACES response in the Bay State was "quick and organized, showing that our recent drills and training sessions have proved beneficial. "Western Massachusetts SM Bill Voedisch, W1UD, reports the Leominster EOC was activated on a standby basis. Although he is equipped with a diesel-powered generator to supply his house and ham shack, his part of Massachusetts suffered no power losses.
Parts of Berkshire County in extreme western Massachusetts suffered from the blackout, although power was restored fairly promptly there. Bill Sexton, N1IN/AAR1FP, an Army MARS member, said his emergency power capability permitted him to run his station and maintain e-mail contact.
"We had the Northeast SHARES (National Communications System HF Shared Resources Program) up and running cross-country on a Condition Two readiness alert." Sexton said. He reports that when he called in on the SHARES channel, a MARS station in Nebraska responded to say he was ready to handle any relays.
"The experience proved once gain the great strength of ham radio in an emergency," Sexton said. "It is self-starting, and it is everywhere."
--Steve Ewald, WV1X, contributed information for this story |
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Ted Schultz, N6RPG Sunday May 22, 2005
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