[Adrian ARC] Fwd: ARES E-Letter for September 03, 2005

[Lowell S.]

RELAY BY KC8JJT
Sorry, for any dupication of mailing.
This information should be relayed as needed.
How to help info in this news letter.
 Thank You,
Lowell
kc8jjt

--- ARRL Web site <memberlist at www.arrl.org> wrote:

> Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 01:25:19 -0400
> Subject: ARES E-Letter for September 03, 2005
> To: 
> From: "ARRL Web site" <memberlist at www.arrl.org>
> 
> **********************
> The ARRL ARES E-Letter
> Special Edition
> September 2, 2005
> **********************
> 
> Edited by Rick Palm, K1CE
> 
>
=================================================================
> ARES reports, other related contributions, editorial
> questions or
> comments: Rick Palm, K1CE, k1ce at arrl.net
>
=================================================================
> 
> SPECIAL EDITION: HURRICANE KATRINA
> 
> "I know many people would like to move now. Please
> don't. I know many
> of you want to enter the fray, come to the coast and
> get involved.
> Please, not yet. Transportation and logistics,
> including volunteer
> groups coming in, must be done in an orderly manner
> or we may only
> add to the chaos and confusion." -ARRL President Jim
> Haynie, W5JBP
> 
>
=================================================================
> 
> IN THIS ISSUE:
> 
> +  Message from Southern Florida SM Sherri Brower,
> W4STB
> +  Volunteer Disaster Communications Registration
> Data Base
> +  First Contact: Southern Florida's Experience
> +  Gulf Coast ARES Emergency Net
> +  Louisiana Situation 
> +  Alabama Situation
> +  Mississippi Situation
> +  Northern Florida Mutual Assistance Team Effort
> +  On Special Assignment: Hillsborough County
> (Florida) ARES/RACES
> +  HF ARES Net Frequencies, Other Frequencies, Key
> Station Activity
> +  ARRL MOU Partners' Activity
> +  New Product: PowerFlare might be helpful for
> responders
> +  Editorial
> +  Final Note to Deployers
>
=================================================================
> 
> Numerous reports are coming in on the devastation
> and relief
> response, including ARES, manifested by Hurricane
> Katrina. This
> special release addresses initial ARES responses and
> planning.
> Everyone has seen the media reports and the public
> notices of various
> governmental agencies and Non-Governmental
> Organizations, so they
> will not be reiterated here. The purpose of this
> edition is to share
> early reports and stories of what our fellow ARES
> members are doing
> in the field in response to one of the worst natural
> disasters to
> beset the United States. These efforts are only
> preliminary, and in
> no way represent the total ARES effort, which will
> evolve over the
> hard hours, days and weeks to come. - K1CE
> ________________________
> 
> +  Message from Southern Florida SM Sherri Brower,
> W4STB
> 
> "We are all concerned about the people in the path
> of Katrina's
> destruction. Many of us have friends or family in
> the area, others
> have friends and co-workers with friends or family
> in the area. At
> this time information into and out of the affected
> areas is sporadic.
>  Our fellow hams are overloaded with requests for
> food, water and
> rescue. They cannot handle health and welfare
> traffic at this time.
> Nor can I. Go to <http://www.satern.org/>  with such
> requests.	[See
> story below - ed.]
> 
> "Here's how you can help now.  Keep frequencies with
> any kind of
> relief traffic clear -- that means listen only,
> don't be a policeman.
> Have patience. If you want to go to the area to
> assist with
> communications or other activities, contact the Red
> Cross or other
> relief agencies. They have required training courses
> before you can
> be deployed, so do not be surprised if you are told
> "no." Donate
> money. Coordinate your travel offer for ARES mutual
> assistance with
> your SEC. Do not attempt to travel to the area on
> your own." -W4STB
> ____________________
> 
> +  Volunteer Disaster Communications Registration
> and Message Traffic
> Data Base  
> 
> South Texas SEC Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, adds "The
> immediate action is
> for ARES leaders in adjacent and nearby sections to
> identify ARES
> volunteers who are qualified and willing to travel
> into the
> [affected] areas." He also reported the
> establishment of a "Volunteer
> Disaster Communications Registration and Message
> Traffic Data Base" -
> see <http://katrina.ab2m.net/> He added this caveat:
> "Before
> registering, consider there are unlikely to be any
> hotel or motel
> rooms available; any accommodations that are
> available are likely to
> be primitive and makeshift. Water suitable for
> drinking or even
> washing is expected to be scarce. Unless you are
> presently mentally
> and physically prepared for complete
> self-sufficiency for at least
> several days, please do not immediately register. 
> Not everyone needs
> to be in the first wave of volunteers; the recovery
> effort will last
> weeks and perhaps months, requiring an extended
> volunteer pool."
> ___________________
> 
> 
> + First Contact: Southern Florida's Experience
> 
> August 25 and 26, 2005-- Hurricane Katrina first
> crossed paths with
> the U.S. in south Florida. Jeff Beals, WA4AW, ARRL
> Southern Florida
> Section Emergency Coordinator, reported that county
> ECs advised him
> of several activations and responses. In Martin
> County, the EOC was
> activated with resource and tactical nets operating
> in support of Red
> Cross HQ, shelters and the EOC. Palm Beach and
> Broward Counties saw
> the same level of activity. Miami-Dade County ARES
> supported their
> EOC and shelters, with ARES/RACES DCAT teams
> assisting Red Cross with
> damage assessment and food distribution. Tactical
> communications were
> provided for all of the above operations. There were
> no activations
> in Glades, Lee or Hendry Counties, according to
> Beals. The Southern
> Florida ARES Net (SFAN) held four special sessions
> on August 25 and
> 26. 
> _____________
> 
> 
> + Gulf Coast ARES Emergency Net
> 
> As Katrina exited the southern tip of the Florida
> peninsula, the Gulf
> Coast's uneasiness turned to alarm when the massive
> storm came ashore
> near the under-sea-level port city of New Orleans. A
> new Battle for
> New Orleans was soon unfolding.
> 
> South Texas SEC Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, informed us of
> Gulf Coast ARES
> mutual assistance: "The South Texas, Louisiana and
> Mississippi ARRL
> sections have had a mutual assistance agreement,
> primarily focused on
> providing net control stations for HF nets.  See
> <http://www.laarrl.org/emergops.htm>.  Accordingly,
> the Gulf Coast
> ARES Emergency Net began operating Monday, August 29
> on 3873 kHz and
> 7285 kHz, and health and welfare traffic nets are
> operating on 3935
> kHz and 7290 kHz."
> 
> As of today, Friday, September 2, the West Gulf ARES
> Emergency Net
> remains active on 7285 kHz days and 3873 kHz nights,
> handling
> emergency and priority traffic only. The net has
> been operating 24/7.
> Health-and-welfare traffic is being handled on 7290
> kHz days and 3935
> kHz nights. [As this is being written, I am
> listening to the net on
> 7285 kHz: they are performing a very professional
> job. -ed.]
> 
> Other sections are also providing mutual assistance.
> See related
> stories below.
> ________________________
> 
> 
> + Louisiana Situation
> 
> Early on, Louisiana SEC Gary Stratton, K5GLS, said
> ARES teams were on
> hold since no one was allowed to go into many areas
> of southern
> Louisiana.  Following assessments, the nature of the
> ARES role could
> be determined. Louisiana SM Mickey Cox, K5MC, said
> that Richard Webb,
> NF5B, from New Orleans was on the air from the
> Louisiana State
> University Hospital. He had reported early that
> sections of New
> Orleans were under water. Louisiana Assistant
> Section Manager Mike
> King, W5MP, from Slidell, also was on the air Monday
> helping provide
> communication from a hospital on the north shore of
> Lake
> Pontchatrain.
> 
> Now, ARES in Louisiana is supporting various relief
> organizations.
> Stratton said most efforts have gone toward
> assisting with emergency
> management and search-and-rescue operations. He says
> he has ARES
> members ready to roll once state authorities reopen
> the hardest-hit
> parishes that have been closed off to outsiders. "We
> have people on
> standby from all over northern Louisiana and from
> the South Texas
> Section basically champing at the bit trying to find
> out when they
> can go," Stratton told ARRL. "It's a very tough
> wait."
> 
> Volunteers have been or will be deployed into the
> areas that are not
> cordoned off, Stratton said. He also said most of
> the emergency
> activity has been on HF, as repeaters were knocked
> out or have
> exhausted emergency power resources. He noted that
> some systems north
> of Lake Pontchatrain were coming back on line,
> however, as power is
> restored. ARES volunteers from Bossier and Caddo
> parishes are being
> deployed into areas that are still open. "We're
> handling a lot of
> traffic from down there that ends up being made by
> cell phones from
> people in the affected area to relatives to people
> up here in
> Shreveport," Stratton explained, "and they call the
> 911 center in the
> Bossier area, and we have a radio link from our EOC
> to Bossier." From
> there the traffic goes onto the HF net. 
> ________________
> 
> 
> + Alabama Situation
> 
> Staff in Newington also talked with Alabama SM Greg
> Sarratt, W4OZK,
> by telephone, in northern Alabama. Power outages
> occurred as Katrina
> moved through the northern Alabama region, bringing
> flooding rains
> and high winds. SKYWARN nets were very active, too,
> according to
> Sarratt, who handled a volunteer shift at the
> Huntsville National
> Weather Service (NWS). ARES groups throughout the
> state and
> especially in central and south Alabama were
> providing communications
> for their local emergency management agencies, and
> Red Cross
> chapters.  
> ________________
> 
> 
> + Mississippi Situation
> 
> Mississippi Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX, in
> Vicksburg, was
> initially reported on the air using generator power.
> His area had no
> electrical power or telephone service, so reports so
> far have been
> scant. We did receive this: "the West Gulf ARES
> Emergency Net will
> activate . . . check-ins will be limited to served
> agency
> representatives as well as stations with emergency,
> priority, and
> weather related traffic or stations in the affected
> storm event area
> with information or inquiries."
>  
> Radio amateurs wanting to volunteer for ARES work
> were advised to
> contact their District Emergency Coordinator or
> county Emergency
> Coordinator.  A list of the Mississippi DECs and ECs
> is available on
> the section website: see <http://www.arrlmiss.org>.
> 
> Now, ARES members are active in the three
> hardest-hit
> counties--Harrison, Hancock and Jackson. Assistant
> Mississippi SM
> Edwin Franks, AD5IS, reported people have been
> calling him at home to
> get information about friends and relatives in the
> stricken area. DEC
> Thomas Hammack, W4WLF, in Gulfport, has been among
> those volunteering
> at the Harrison County EOC. Amateurs in the three
> counties have been
> using HF, VHF and UHF resources to support emergency
> management as
> well as the Red Cross, The Salvation Army and the
> Baptist Men's
> Kitchen. Amateurs also have been handling
> considerable
> health-and-welfare traffic, he said.
> 
> Mutual Assistance to Mississippi: About a half dozen
> radio amateurs,
> including the aforementioned Alabama SM Greg
> Sarratt, W4OZK, were
> preparing to head to Jackson, Mississippi, as part
> of a Southern
> Baptist Disaster Relief trip. They will provide
> communications and
> other assistance for the relief group. Another group
> from Alabama
> will be heading on to southern Mississippi or
> Louisiana once
> assignments are confirmed. 
> ____________________
> 
>  
> + Northern Florida Mutual Assistance Team Effort
> 
> Storm riding veteran and Northern Florida SM Rudy
> Hubbard, WA4PUP, is
> gathering a team to assist neighboring Mississippi
> upon clearance and
> coordination by the Florida State Emergency
> Operations Center (SEOC).
> Northern Florida SEC Joe Bushel, W2DWR, stated that
> radio amateurs
> going should be prepared to spend a week in the
> area. VHF, UHF and HF
> capabilities will be needed as well as digital, ATV
> and SSTV modes.
> Bushel asked DECs for lists of volunteers. "Do not
> depart without a
> Florida-issued Tracker Number," advised Bushel and
> Hubbard. Tracker
> Numbers will only be available from them. The
> Northern Florida ARES
> Net (3950 kHz) and Phone Net (3940 kHz) are good
> sources for
> deployment information.
> ___________________ 
> 
> 
> + On Special Assignment: Hillsborough County
> (Florida) ARES/RACES
> 
> Gary Sessums, KC5QCN, Hillsborough County EC,
> reports that his
> ARES/RACES organization has been tasked by the
> Florida Division of
> Emergency Management (FDEM) through the Emergency
> Management
> Assistance Compact (EMAC) to deploy the State of
> Florida Emergency
> Deployable Interoperable Communications System
> (EDICS) and the State
> of Florida Mutual Aid Radio Communications (MARC)
> Unit to the
> Mississippi Gulf Coast in support of Hurricane
> Katrina recovery
> operations.
> 
> In addition to the public safety communications
> equipment they will
> be deploying, team members will interface with
> Amateur Radio, the
> Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS), Civil Air
> Patrol (CAP), and
> the Federal government's SHARES HF radio system.
> They will also
> attempt to pass health and welfare traffic via
> amateur radio. 
> 
> The team was also tasked with providing
> communications support
> locally in Tampa for the National Disaster Medical
> System (NDMS)
> airlift of hospital patients from the flooded
> hospitals in New
> Orleans to local hospitals in Hillsborough.
> ARES/RACES operators are
> stationed at Tampa's airport and at the Hillsborough
> County EOC to
> track plane landings and patient head count
> information. 
> 
> The team that was selected to deploy had taken the
> required courses,
> including the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
> Communications Course
> (ARECC), and have specific skills needed to
> accomplish the mission.
> 
> [Late note: This team is en route to the affected
> areas as this is
> being written-ed.]
> __________________________
> 
> 
> + Known ARES HF and VHF Operations
> 
> The following is a list of ARES net frequencies that
> may be active,
> courtesy of East Central Florida DEC designate Jay
> Musikar, AF2C:
> 
> 3873 kHz Louisiana ARES Emergency (night) 
> 3873 kHz Texas ARES Emergency (night) 
> 3873 kHz Mississippi ARES Emergency 
> 3910 kHz Mississippi ARES 
> 3923 kHz Mississippi ARES 
> 3935 kHz Louisiana ARES (health and welfare) 
> 3935 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 
> 3935 kHz Mississippi ARES (health and welfare) 
> 3950 kHz Northern Florida ARES 
> 7273 kHz Texas ARES (alternate) 
> 7285 kHz West Gulf ARES Emergency (day) 
> 7285 kHz Louisiana ARES Emergency (day) 
> 7285 kHz Mississippi ARES Emergency (day)
> 7285 kHz Texas ARES Emergency (day) 
> 7290 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 
> 7290 kHz Louisiana ARES (health and welfare)
> 7290 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 
> 7290 kHz Mississippi ARES (health and welfare)
> 
> Other reported frequencies:
> 
> 7298 kHz Kessler AFB, Mississippi operator is Alan
> Deaton, KU4WN.
> 7666 kHz Kessler AFB, Mississippi (Note: this
> frequency is outside
> the amateur band).
> 
> VHF Operations:
> 
> 444.200 MHz pl 114.8 New Orleans repeater is
> operational and EOC in
> Baton Rouge is monitoring; 147.380 MHz North shore
> of Lake
> Ponchartrain; 147.241 MHz pl 114.8 is operational
> from East Jefferson
> in New Orleans.
> 
> Active Station Operations in Affected Areas:
> 
> WB5LHS [Louisiana Office Of Homeland Security And
> Emergency
> Preparedness Club Station], Baton Rouge EOC and
> links to FEMA; W5SLA
> [Ozone Amateur Radio Club] Slidell (Louisiana)
> National Weather
> Service Office; Larry Kirchner, KG7FF, Meadow Crest
> Hospital in
> Grenta, Louisiana; Danny Smith, KC5EST, EOC Bay St
> Louis, Mississippi
> (between New Orleans and Biloxi); Tom Miller, AC5TM,
> working on Levee
> Pumping Stations; Bruce Kachline, KD4WDD, in port at
> Oak Harbor
> Marina, Slidell, Louisiana, accepting incoming
> e-mail to
> KD4WDD at winlink.org; Oris Grim III, N4CND, hauling
> materials for FEMA;
> N4ARC, American Red Cross, Orlando, Florida.
> _______________________________ 
> 
> 
> + ARRL MOU Partners' Activity
> 
> American Red Cross: The American Red Cross is
> providing a safe haven
> for nearly 4,000 evacuees in more than 230 Red Cross
> shelters, from
> the panhandle of Florida, across Alabama,
> Mississippi, Louisiana,
> Georgia, and Texas. The Red Cross is launching the
> largest
> mobilization of resources for a single natural
> disaster involving
> thousands of trained disaster relief workers, tons
> of supplies, and
> support. The Red Cross relies on donations to do its
> work. The best
> way to help is by making an online contribution to
> the Disaster
> Relief Fund at: <http://www.redcross.org/>. 
> 
> More Red Cross: Earl Leach, WX4J, relayed this ARC
> message: "The Red
> Cross has the same problems with communication as
> the general public.
> We heed all directions from public officials, and do
> not enter areas
> until they are deemed safe. The Red Cross does not
> have information
> on the well being of any individuals. Our phone
> lines are being
> overwhelmed with calls, and we appreciate the desire
> to know how
> people fared during the storm. Medical and
> government officials will
> contact families in serious cases if necessary. The
> best way to help
> the Red Cross assist those affected by the storm is
> to remain patient
> and help us keep our phone lines open for
> emergencies only."
> 
> The Salvation Army: Reports have the Salvation
> Army's SATERN net
> handling more than 12,000 H/W message requests. The
> net directs
> inquirers to the SATERN web site
> <http://www.satern.org>, with the
> on-the-air SATERN net looking for emergency traffic
> only. There has
> been "no traffic out of the storm zone at this
> time." Look for the
> SATERN net on 14.265 MHz, or possibly 40-meters as
> conditions
> dictate. SATERN National Net Director Jim Adams,
> WA0LSB, says the net
> is activating daily at 1400 UTC and continuing until
> 20 meters
> closes. "We estimate that approximately 1000 Amateur
> Radio operators
> are checking into the SATERN net each day," he said.
> "Most of them
> have traffic and are an excellent source for relays
> and traffic
> handling. Each day, we are able to pass many pieces
> of traffic."
> 
> An ARRL report had SATERN volunteers helping with
> rooftop rescues:
> "Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving several
> stranded flood
> victims this week in Louisiana and Mississippi."
> _____________________
> 
> 
> + New Product May Help: PowerFlare Safety Light of
> Possible Use for
> Deployments
> 
> An ARES EC and police officer, Kenneth Dueker,
> KB6BPM, in Palo Alto,
> California, has invented the PowerFlare Safety Light
> <http://www.powerflare.com>. According to his note,
> the PowerFlare
> safety light is about the size of a hockey puck,
> contains
> ultra-bright LED lights, and is durable enough to be
> run over by
> large trucks. Uses include: traffic safety,
> illumination and
> signaling in emergency (earthquake, hurricane, power
> failure) light,
> and Emergency Response Teams. 
> 
> The safety product is built in California and is
> currently in use by
> law enforcement, fire departments, and other first
> responders, as
> well as road construction and other users.  ARRL and
> ARES members may
> be interested in PowerFlare. Source: Kenneth Dueker,
> KB6BPM,
> PowerFlare Corporation President and CEO, e-mail:
> kdueker at powerflare.com
> _________________________
> 
> 
> + Editorial: Interoperability a Key Role for Amateur
> Radio
> 
> National Public Radio (NPR) featured a brief
> interview with a
> Louisiana state senator yesterday, who made the
> observation that
> their biggest problem is communication among the
> various responding
> agencies. That comment brought back memories:
> interoperability among
> agencies has been a long time, deeply entrenched
> problem, and is
> fostered in part by poor coordination and planning,
> or to put it less
> politely, "turf protection." It's a manifestation of
> human nature and
> organizational behavior, I suppose. 
> 
> Reader Don Lamont, WD5AAH, commented: "My only
> problem is that I have
> watched TV all day on the terrible destruction
> caused by Katrina and
> listened to the government complain about
> communications. Will we
> spend another billion dollars on communication gear
> that won't work
> when they need it or will we call out the amateurs
> to provide the
> communications."
> 
> So, here we have a new event that presents another
> perfect
> opportunity for ARES members: fill the
> interoperability gap. That
> opportunity will manifest itself in countless
> places, with countless
> agencies in the days and weeks to come, as the Gulf
> Coast slowly
> recovers. When the time comes for post-recovery
> evaluations, ARES may
> find itself written into more inter-agency
> communication plans, with
> more government and agency support. At least that's
> what we should
> work for, when we get to that point down the long,
> hard road to come.
> -- K1CE
> ___________________________
> 
> 
> + Final Note to Deployers:
> 
> "Caution" should be the keynote of those ARES
> members getting ready
> to deploy to the affected areas. Make no mistake
> about it: you are
> going into harm's way. There will be the usual gross
> hazards-the
> weakened buildings and trees, the water, and debris.
> And there will
> be unseen hazards from the microbial world. Before
> departure, see
> your local clinic for shots that will likely include
> tetanus,
> Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, among others. Be sure
> that you are
> prepared physically to endure a harsh environment,
> without the usual
> creature comforts, including a bathroom. Also be
> prepared for the
> mental hazards: you will see things that will be
> psychologically
> disturbing. You will endure fatigue that you have
> never felt before.
> It is a fatigue that you will feel to the core of
> your being.
> 
> But, know one more thing: We on the periphery will
> be with you in
> spirit, and will be in front of our radios to
> support your efforts by
> relaying your messages and offering words of
> encouragement.  We are
> proud that you are one of us. - K1CE
> 
>
======================================================================
> The ARES E-Letter is published on the third
> Wednesday of each month
> 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.
> 
> The ARES E-Letter is an e-mail digest of news and
> information of
> interest to active members of the ARRL Amateur Radio
> Emergency
> Service (ARES). 
> 
> Material from The ARES E-Letter may be republished
> or reproduced in
> whole or in part in any form without additional
> permission. Credit
> must be given to The ARES E-Letter and The American
> Radio Relay
> League.
> 
> Editorial questions or comments: Rick Palm, K1CE,
> k1ce at arrl.net
\


		
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