[HCRA] Fw: [RACES] Fed Katrina Report

[Daniel J. Sullivan]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Radioguy" <radioguy at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <RACES at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 1:53 PM
Subject: [RACES] Fed Katrina Report


> Amateur Radio's Role Get Favorable Mention in Post-Katrina Report
> 
> NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 17, 2006--The Amateur Radio Emergency Service 
> (ARES), the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) and the HF digital 
> e-mail system Winlink 2000 all got positive mentions in a 
> post-Katrina report from the US House of Representatives. US Rep Tom 
> Davis (R-VA) chaired the panel. References to ARES, MARS and Winlink 
> appear in "A Failure of Initiative"--the final report of the Select 
> Bipartisan Committee to investigate the preparation for and response 
> to Hurricane Katrina.
> 
> "Like all levels of government," the 364-page report notes, the 
> National Communication System (NCS), "was not able to address all 
> aspects of the damage to the communications infrastructure of the 
> Gulf States."
> 
> MARS was cited for its role as part of the Shared Resources High 
> Frequency Radio Program (SHARES), an emergency federal communication 
> system put into play when other resources are unavailable. The report 
> says that "within days" of Katrina's landfall, NCS called upon more 
> than 430 SHARES stations across the US to, among other things, assist 
> first responders conducting search-and-rescue missions by relaying 
> information to government agencies, by relaying logistical and 
> operational information among FEMA EOCs in Georgia, Mississippi and 
> Louisiana, and by handling health-and-welfare messages between 
> volunteer agencies in Georgia and the American Red Cross national 
> headquarters.
> 
> "Additionally, the NCS coordinated the frequencies used by the nearly 
> 1000 Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers across the 
> nation who served in the Katrina stricken area providing 
> communications for government agencies, the Red Cross and The 
> Salvation Army," the report continued. "Emergency communications were 
> conducted not only by voice, but also by high-speed data 
> transmissions using state-of-the art digital communications software 
> known as Winlink."
> 
> The report further noted, "In Mississippi, FEMA dispatched Amateur 
> Radio operators to hospitals, evacuation centers, and county EOCs to 
> send emergency messaging 24 hours per day. It further cited comments 
> from Bay St Louis Mayor Edward A. "Eddie" Favre that Amateur Radio 
> operators "were especially helpful in maintaining situational 
> awareness and relaying Red Cross messages to and from the Hancock 
> County (Mississippi) EOC."
> 
> According to the report, radio amateurs at airports in Texas and 
> Louisiana "tracked evacuees and notified families of their 
> whereabouts," while the Red Cross "deployed Amateur Radio volunteers 
> at its 250 shelters and feeding stations, principally in Mississippi, 
> Alabama and Florida."
> 
> The Salvation Army, the report pointed out, operates its own system 
> of Amateur Radio volunteers known as SATERN (Salvation Army Team 
> Emergency Radio Network). "During the Hurricane Katrina response and 
> recovery effort, SATERN joined forces with the SHARES program and 
> received over 48,000 requests for emergency communications assistance 
> utilizing federal frequencies made available via the SHARES program," 
> the report noted.
> 
> "The extent of destruction and damage to the communications 
> infrastructure and services caused by Katrina exceeded that of any 
> other natural disaster experienced by the Gulf Coast states," the 
> report concluded. "Simply put, Katrina's devastation overwhelmed 
> government resources at all levels."
> 
> "A Failure of Initiative" asserted that the loss of power and the 
> failure at various levels of government "to adequately prepare for 
> the ensuing and inevitable loss of communications" hindered the 
> hurricane response "by compromising situational awareness and command 
> and control operations."
> 
> "Despite the devastation left by Katrina, this needn't have been the 
> case," the report stressed. "Catastrophic disasters may have some 
> unpredictable consequences, but losing power and the dependent 
> communications systems after a hurricane should not be one of them."
> 
> (ARRL Web)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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