Amateur Radio Volunteers Involved in Katrina Recovery
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 30, 2005--Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers in Louisiana are engaged in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, and more are waiting in the wings to help as soon as they can enter storm-ravaged zones. Winds and flooding from the huge storm wreaked havoc in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after Katrina came ashore early Monday, August 29. Louisiana ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Gary Stratton, K5GLS, told ARRL that some 250 ARES members have been working with the Red Cross and the state's Office of Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness. Much of the affected areas remain flooded and dangerous, however. As a result, state officials have not allowed emergency or other units to enter the flooded zones, and there is still no communication with many coastal areas.
The West Gulf ARES Emergency Net remains active (7.285 MHz days/3.873 MHz nights), and radio amateurs not involved in emergency communication have been asked to keep these frequencies clear when the net is in session.
A high volume of health-and-welfare requests reportedly is slowing the passage of critical tactical and emergency traffic. The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) on 14.265 MHz has been accepting and handling health-and-welfare inquiries on the air and via its Web site.
Hurricane Katrina's fierce winds and heavy rains are being blamed for upward of 70 deaths as well as the destruction of homes and businesses. Many trees uprooted, taking down power lines and blocking highways, hampering emergency and repair crews. Rescue personnel worked through the night to save stranded residents, some floating on rooftops or simply swimming for their lives. An estimated two million people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are without power.
ARES volunteers from outside the directly affected areas have been mustering to assist, but, Stratton says, until units can enter the flooded disaster areas "there's no place they can go yet." Cox told ARRL that at least some Louisiana ARES teams also are in a holding pattern, awaiting word from relief agencies as to what they need in terms of communication support and where, before they can officially activate.
Louisiana Section Manager Mickey Cox, K5MC, reports Richard Webb, NF5B, from New Orleans was on the air from the Louisiana State University Hospital as of Monday afternoon during the storm. Sections of New Orleans now are under water. Louisiana Assistant SM Mike King, W5MP, of Slidell, also was on the air Monday helping provide communication from a hospital on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Ben Joplin, WB5VST, in Oklahoma City, is interviewed by local news media after getting word through to Louisiana officials that 15 people were stranded on a roof there. [Mark Conklin, N7XYO, Photo]
Long-Distance Ham Radio Rescue
A call for help that involved a combination of cell telephone calls and Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving 15 people stranded by floodwaters on the roof of a house in New Orleans. Unable to get through an overloaded 911 system, one of those stranded called a relative in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That individual, in turn, called another relative, Sybil Hayes in Broken Arrow , Oklahoma, whose 81-year-old aunt Helen Lelzx was among those clinging to the roof along with other family members.
Hayes called the American Red Cross chapter, which contacted the Tulsa Repeater Organization. Using the Red Cross chapter's well-equipped amateur station, TRO member Ben Joplin, WB5VST, was able to relay a request for help on the 20-meter SATERN net via stations in Oregon and Idaho to Louisiana, where the ARES net contacted emergency personnel who rescued the 15 people.
"When all else fails, Amateur Radio works is more than a catchy tag line," says TRO's Mark Conklin, N7XYO. "It's a lifeline." He said as of late Monday evening, Lelxz and the others on the roof were safe at a Red Cross shelter.
Alabama
Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, reports sporadic power outages in the northern part of the state where he lives. Katrina moved through the region Monday evening, bringing flooding rains and high winds. Amateur Radio SKYWARN nets were active Monday, reporting the severe weather conditions to the National Weather Service. Sarratt himself handled a volunteer shift at the Huntsville NWS office Monday evening. He told ARRL Headquarters that ARES groups throughout the state--and especially in central and southern Alabama--have been supporting communication for local emergency management agencies and the Red Cross.
Mississippi
Because telephone circuits are out or overloaded, ARRL has received little firsthand information so far from Mississippi on Amateur Radio emergency response activities there. Mississippi Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX, in Vicksburg, was reported on the air using generator power. His area has no electrical power or telephone service.
Mutual Aid
Sarratt will be among about a half dozen radio amateurs from Alabama preparing to head to Jackson, Mississippi, to provide communication and other assistance for the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team. Another group from Alabama will be heading on to southern Mississippi or Louisiana once they get their assignments confirmed, Sarratt said.
ARRL Northern Florida SM Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, reports his section is putting together a team of Amateur Radio operators to assist in neighboring Mississippi, once they get clearance to go there. The Florida mutual assistance team will be coordinated through the Florida State Emergency Operations Center.
Thanks for posting. I'm glad to hear the radio relays will be set up soon.