[ARRL-OK] Fw: The ARES E-Letter for August 15, 2012

Wed Aug 15 07:50:56 EDT 2012

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Subject: The ARES E-Letter for August 15, 2012

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August 15,
2012Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
ARES E-Letter Archive
ARES Home
ARRL Home Page 
In This Issue:

	* Hurricane Center Station WX4NHC Works Ernesto 
	* Alabama ARES/RACES Ops Support Red Cross Shelter
Exercise
	* Texas COMMEX Exercise Supported
	* FCC Denies Petition Seeking to Designate Nationwide
Emergency Calling Frequency
	* NOAA Updates 2012 Hurricane Season Outlook
	* ARES Bits and Bytes
	* Letters: On Mental Health Risks
	* Hurricane Webinar Post Mortem 
	* K1CE For a Final
Hurricane Center
Station WX4NHC Works Ernesto 
Operators at WX4NHC, the
Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, activated
their HF and EchoLink/IRLP operations on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 6 PM
EDT, for hurricane Ernesto. The station continued operations until the storm
made landfall on the southern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula late
that evening. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rains and winds, but
weakened as it moved across land. Due to this weakening, the National Hurricane
Center (NHC) downgraded Ernesto to a tropical storm at 5 AM EDT
Wednesday morning.
WX4NHC operators requested land based
stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected to send them weather
data and damage reports. Stations were asked to check in to the Hurricane
Watch Net, EchoLink/IRLP channels, and the VoIP Hurricane Net to convey
reports. WX4NHC operators also monitored CWOP, APRS and MADIS/MESONET automated weather stations in the affected
areas. 
WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R,
thanked outreach partner Fidelio Cobos, XE3AFC, for sending several
detailed reports during Hurricane Ernesto's onslaught. Fidelio was active on the
Mexican Net on 40 meters and brought back reports via EchoLink with several
submitted directly to the NHC via its on-line reporting form. WX4NHC
monitored the Mexican 40 meter net on 7.060 MHz until landfall and it was very
active, reported Ripoll.
Ripoll said that "this is one
example of the benefits gained by being proactive with our outreach to hams
in areas that are affected by hurricanes." "Our approach of notifying
amateurs and clubs throughout parts of ITU Region 2 that are affected by
hurricanes in advance of hurricane season hopefully brings more active stations to
participate in the HWN, VoIP Nets and other modes or means they can use to
send data to WX4NHC."
Ripoll concluded, "I have
witnessed so many times while sitting for hours in front of a radio at NHC
listening to mostly static, we get that one report that makes a big difference,
whether it is a piece of data that fills in the gap for the hurricane
forecasters or a ship in trouble trying to race to port before it's too late."
Ripoll thanked all operators for their support during Hurricane Ernesto. For
more information on the Amateur Radio station WX4NHC at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami, click here.
Alabama
ARES/RACES Ops Support Red Cross Shelter Exercise
Randall Landers, KG4EUD, Mikey Phillips, KI4KOT, and Tracy Stephens, KI4OZG,
with the Calhoun County ARES/RACES in Anniston, Alabama participated in a
recent Red Cross Shelter Exercise conducted by the Calhoun/Cleburne County
Chapter of the American Red Cross. The exercise centered on the process of
setting up a shelter in the event of a disaster. The scenario in this exercise
was a tornado that struck part of the county and a shelter set up at the
Greenbrier Road Baptist Church.
During the exercise,
members of the Red Cross talked with participants about the different parts of
a shelter and how it would operate: The Sign-In or Processing, Medical
Evaluation, Counseling, Dormitory operations, and food preparations. And, of
course, the use of Amateur Radio 
Tracy Stephens, KI4OZG
(left) and Mikey Phillips, KI4KOT, operating an Amateur Radio station during
the Red Cross Shelter Exercise. (photo courtesy
KI4OZG) operators to support and maintain disaster response and emergency
communications for a disaster at a Red Cross shelter was discussed.
During this exercise, we set up our communications station with
the call sign WX4CAL. We employed two ICOM ID-880 radios along with several
handhelds to operate on our local VHF ARES/RACES repeater and also used
D-STAR digital simplex. We also used a laptop computer with DVAP that provided D-STAR digital communications that would have been used for
statewide or worldwide operations if needed. In addition to the Amateur
Radio equipment, we used the GRLevel3 weather radar program, which would have been a valuable
tool for use if this had been an actual event.
During
the course of the day the participants were rotated to and from each
station to learn more about each shelter function. At our communication area,
both Landers and Stephens explained to the Red Cross volunteers about Amateur
Radio operations in the event of a true disaster, and more specifically, at
a Red Cross shelter.
Karen Howle-Hurst, American Red
Cross Mid-Alabama Region District Emergency Services Specialist, was on hand
to watch the exercise and was pleased to have the Calhoun County
ARES/RACES as a part of the shelter exercise. A bonus was that there was one Red
Cross Intern and one Red Cross volunteer who wanted to know more about how to
get licensed.
Landers was also pleased at how smoothly
the exercise went. The station was set up quickly and all radio operators
were ready to perform their duties as Red Cross Shelter communications
volunteers. He also indicated that if there had been a need for our ARES/RACES
Emergency Communication Trailer there would have been plenty of room to park
it next to the building close to the room where the radios had been set
up.
The purpose and responsibility of the Calhoun County
ARES/RACES is to furnish communications to the public safety agencies of
Calhoun County and the general public, in the event of a disaster situation
when regular communications fail or are inadequate for a particular
situation or overloaded. For more information about the Calhoun County ARES/RACES please visit their
web site or you can follow them on Twitter @KD4CAL. -- Tracy A. Stephens,
KI4OZG, Public Relations Officer, Calhoun County ARES/RACES
Texas COMMEX Exercise
Supported
The Texas Department of Public Safety in
cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency
Communications conducted a COMMEX (Communications Exercise) on August 8 and 9, 2012,
at the Harris County Fire and Sheriffs Academy in Humble, Texas. The
COMMEX is a simulated emergency event exercise to assist Communication Leaders
(COML) and Communication Technicians 
At right,
Michael Wassell,
Technology Manager for the City of Atascocita, Texas Fire Department is assisted by
ARRL Assistant Director Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, as Wassell makes a RG-58
jumper cable at one of the nine training stations in the tech room portion of
the COMMEX. (photo courtesy KE5ZW) (COMT)
become qualified through their respective agencies to fulfill those roles in
emergency deployments under the Incident Command System (ICS). Paul
Gilbert, KE5ZW, ARRL West Gulf Division Assistant Director for Public Safety,
assisted Michael Wassell, Technology Manager for the City of Atascocita, Texas
Fire Department with "Tech Room" activities. The training stations included
one that gave familiarization with Amateur Radio technology and abilities
to the students who came from various public safety agencies from across
the State of Texas. - Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, ARRL West Gulf Division Assistant Director for Public
Safety
FCC Denies Petition
Seeking to Designate Nationwide Emergency Calling Frequency
Saying that it believes that the Amateur Service "allows
flexibility to provide emergency communications in a way that takes into account
channel availability and other local conditions," the FCC denied a Petition for Rulemaking to create a
nationwide emergency calling frequency. The Petition -- filed by
Bryan Boyle, WB0YLE, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and Jim Dixon, WB6NIL, of
Alhambra, California -- called upon the FCC to designate 146.550 MHz as a
"non-exclusive nationwide Amateur Radio Service emergency communications
channel using FM wideband modulation."
Doyle and Dixon
noted in their Petition that other services, such as the Citizens Band Radio
Service, the Aviation Service and the Maritime Service have specific
channels set aside for emergency communications. They claimed that use of these
channels "to good effect by those in distress [and that this] is a testament
to the need for individual services to have a readily accessible and
publicized" emergency communications channel. In denying the Petition, the FCC
said in part that Boyle and Dixon "had not shown an existing problem that
would be addressed by a rule change designating a nationwide Amateur Service
emergency calling frequency."
The FCC told Boyle and
Dixon that the rules of the Amateur Radio Service allow "an amateur station
to transmit one-way messages necessary to providing emergency
communications," maintaining that these messages may "be transmitted on any frequency
authorized [by] the control operator of the amateur stations transmitting the
messages. Additionally, the rules require that, at all times and on all
frequencies, each control operator must give priority to stations providing
emergency communications. Administration of these rules is accomplished
primarily through voluntary frequency planning by, and cooperation among,
Amateur Radio operators." Read more here. -- ARRL Letter
NOAA Updates 2012 Hurricane Season Outlook
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season has been "busy," with six
named storms since the season began June 1. In May 2012, NOAA forecasters
originally indicated a 50 percent chance for a near-normal season in 2012, and
predicted the chances for an above-normal season at 25 percent and a
below-normal season at 25 percent. But on August 9, NOAA revised the
chances for an above-normal season -- upping the odds to 35 percent -- while
saying that the chances for a below-normal season have decreased to 15
percent.
Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the season --
June 1 to November 30 -- NOAA's updated seasonal outlook projects a total
(including the 2012 tropical storms Alberto, Beryl, Debbie, Florence and the
2012 hurricanes Chris and Ernesto) of 12 to 17 named storms (top winds of 39
miles per hour or higher), including 5 to 8 hurricanes (top winds of 74
miles per hour or higher) of which 2 to 3 could be major hurricanes (Category
3, 4 or 5 with winds of at least 111 miles per hour).
The numbers are higher from the initial outlook in May, which called for
9-15 named storms, 4-8 hurricanes and 1-3 major hurricanes. Based on a 30
year average, a normal Atlantic hurricane season produces 12 named storms, six
hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. "We are increasing the likelihood
of an above-normal season because storm-conducive wind patterns and
warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures are now in place in the Atlantic,"
said NOAA Climate Prediction Center Lead Seasonal Hurricane Forecaster Dr
Gerry Bell. "These conditions are linked to the ongoing high activity era for
Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995. Also, strong early-season activity
is generally indicative of a more active season." But NOAA seasonal climate
forecasters also announced on August 9 that El Niño will likely
develop in August or September. "El Niño is a competing factor, because it
strengthens the vertical wind shear over the Atlantic, which suppresses
storm development," Bell explained. "But we don't expect El Niño's
influence until later in the season."
Saying that there is
still "a long way to go until the end of the season," National Weather Service
Acting Director Laura Furgione advised that "we shouldn't let our guard
down. Hurricanes often bring dangerous inland flooding, as we saw a year ago
in the Northeast with Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Even people
who live hundreds of miles from the coast need to remain vigilant through
the remainder of the season." -- Thanks to NOAA for the information - ARRL
Letter
ARES Bits and
Bytes
* National Community/Neighborhood Exercise Series
Continues -- The series of Formidable Footprint exercises for
neighborhood, community and faith based organizations continues on August 25 with a
hurricane exercise and on September 29 for a solar storm exercise. A flood
scenario is planned for October 27. Exercises have also been scheduled for
the following scenarios: Earthquake; Influenza Pandemic; Tornado; and
Wildfire. The Formidable Footprint exercise series has been developed in
accordance with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)
protocols. The objective of the exercise series is for CERTs, Neighborhood Watch
Programs, Neighborhood Associations, Community/Faith Based Organizations,
Citizen Corps, Fire Corps and others to work as a team to become better
prepared for the next disaster their community may face. There is NO CHARGE for
participation in any of the Formidable Footprint exercises. For additional
information or to register for upcoming exercises, click here.
* IS-144 Telecommunâicators Emergency Response
Taskforce (TERT) Basic Course is available here. While this course
applies to Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP) personnel, there is some information
in this course that would directly apply to Amateur Radio operators
deployed to a disaster site. In my opinion, it would be appropriate for SKYWARN,
ARES, and RACES operators. - Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, Altus, Oklahoma
Emergency Management
Letters: On Mental Health Risks
I wanted to comment
on your insightful article in July 2012 QST on ARES and mental
health risks. It brought back some uncomfortable memories of Hurricane Andrew
response. When I was the RACES coordinator in Dade County for that event, I
sent more than 150 amateurs into the field. Among the bad memories was the
ham who was sent to Homestead and was killed by lightning while helping
unload a helicopter. He is one of the names on the memorial plaque at ARRL HQ
in Newington containing the names and call signs of hams to die in
service.
Although no one blamed me for having deployed him
there, it weighed heavily on my mind for a number of years. Similarly, I
witnessed a number of emergency responders - both hams and non-hams - crack under
the pressure of response, some in highly responsible government
positions.
Among the results and after-action analyses of Andrew,
we established that hams would be eligible for county-administered CISD -
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing - a form of psychotherapy for
individuals suffering from PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was recognized
that hams in stressful communication situations can suffer the same PTSD as
public safety professionals and other emergency responders.
This service should be available in all municipalities and agencies
where amateurs often end up not only passing on the messages of others but by
default making some very responsible decisions themselves. -- Joel Kandel,
KI4T, Former Chairman, ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee 
Hurricane Webinar Post Mortem 
On July 17th the ARRL hosted the 2012 Hurricane Webinar
with presentations by VOIP WX Net, the Hurricane Watch Net, WX4NHC, and
ARRL HQ Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. While the webinar
was generally well attended and the presentation covered a lot of valuable
material, the webinar was fraught with problems. The feedback that was
received has been reviewed and we are making plans to apply corrections to next
year's hurricane webinar. Our sincere apologies for the problems with this
one, it did not live up to the high expectations of the presenters or the
attendees.
That being said, the webinar was recorded and has been placed on
the website available for download. You can access the webinar video here.
Thank you again to all who attended and stuck it out through the
issues and problems.
K1CE For a
Final
It is time to consider the drafting and
development of an ARES QSO Party. I think the demand for such an operating
event would be very high, given the rise in interest in public service,
disaster response, emergency communications and indeed the ARES program itself
since 9/11. An ARES QSO Party would promote on-the-air practice of skills of
message handling and efficiency, and would go a long way towards networking
of local, district and Section ARES groups across the country. To create
this operating event would require ARRL Board of Directors' approval, but we
in the ARES community can start the ball rolling by drafting a specific
proposal for ultimate Board consideration. Ideas?
See you
next month! 73, Rick Palm, K1CE, Daytona Beach, Florida
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