[KYHAM] Report for NB4K
kd4pwl at insightbb.com
kd4pwl at insightbb.com
Wed Sep 21 17:56:38 EDT 2005
Pat, Please post the below e-mail I tried and it was rejected.
Thanks John, NB4K
__________________________________________________________________
We have received permission to post this first hand report.
Jerry
The author is me and you have my full permission to distribute this as you
see fit.
Cliff KD4GT
I live in TN and am a field engineer for Velocita Wireless - the U.S.
operator of the Mobitex wireless data network - and am often one of the
first into disaster areas trying to restore service from our affected sites.
Like every other wireless service, we depend on the local phone company for
99% of our connectivity upwards through our network and local power
companies for power to run the sites.
Small portable generators can make up for lack of electrical service and we
have and are deploying satellite links for lack of TelCo service at others.
I am back home now after spending a week working along the gulf coast from
Pascagoula, MS to New Orleans, LA. We have found that a week is about the
limit for an engineer to spend under the intense demands of these
situations. The long hours and marginal living conditions rapidly take their
toll on the physical and mental health of people working in these areas.
My hope is that any hams wanting to go into the area and provide
communications assistance be prepared to see things that no person should
experience. They must also be totally prepared to live under virtual combat
conditions. I have seen too many gun-ho hams wanting to help but are ill
prepared to support themselves for the duration.
Good luck - it's still a mess down there!
73 de KD4GT
This isn't my first hurricane but it is certainly the worst I've seen.
Others agree. Stuart, FL, ground zero after Frances, doesn't compare to what
I've seen so far. The devastation goes for miles. I spent last night in
Petal, MS - 60 miles inland - and 1 tree in 4 is gone. Road signs are
missing. Roofs are in the remaining trees and every couple miles you drive
over a chunk of Telco cable ripped from poles 100+ yards away. Major
intersections have portable stop signs or the centerline has a police
barricade to prevent cross traffic.
Cell coverage is spotty, electrical power sparse and the POTS phone was
supposed to use a pair in that last cable you drove over. Gas, if the
station has power, is a 4+ hour wait in the ¾ mile line for a $20 limit.
People are siphoning gas from their cars to run portable generators keeping
their refrigerator and a box fan running. If they are lucky, they still have
running water.
But it gets worse as you go south. Heading down I-59 to Slidell, LA are
mile+ long stretches where 1 in 4 trees are left standing.
Several overpasses were flooded over 8' deep for the local road below. My
site in Slidell was lucky. The shack is 4' above ground so it only got a
foot deep with water inside.
Oh, that's after wading through 6" black gumbo mud to get to the steps. But,
the site remains down. TelCo says it will take at least a week before they
can connect upwards through their network. That is the first priority. Dial
tone at your home or Frame Relay to your radio site comes later. The good
thing is there are no gas lines creating traffic jams. There's just none
available. There's no power to run the pumps. Large crews are trying to
rebuild the railroad. The local marina looks like a 5 year old boy's toy
box with the boats piled wherever the wind and waves left them.
Going west to Hammond, LA. Life gets a bit better. The gas lines return.
Your cell phone might work. I am able to find out I'm needed in Diamondhead,
MS. I-10 is littered with everything - cars, chairs, trees, what looked like
refrigerators and the constant tree limbs and brush. I passed the hood of a
Kenworth. There's' very little traffic here. Power crews, TV vans and other
'official' vehicles only. I'm passing a National Guard convoy now. Homes
along the road are heavily damaged. Many have walls or a roof missing - if
its still standing. The stench of dead and rotting plants and animals is
everywhere.
Devastation? Massive. Do they need help? Yes. However you must be TOTALLY
self-sufficient. Expect nothing - not even roads. You must bring your own
water, food, toilet paper and porta-a-potty. There are no hotel rooms, few
camp grounds, no Burger King. You won't get it "your way"!
The infrastructure is being restored - slowly. The damage is major.
The shootings are real. Even in 'good' neighborhoods there is petty looting.
The governmental agencies are deploying resources. Order is slowly being
restored.
Curfews are being enforced. Normalcy will return. At the moment however,
there is little structure. If you didn't bring it along, it doesn't exist.
Your personal safety is sometimes a luxury. Think of being a lone soldier in
a war zone. You have no supply chain. You are one bottle of water away from
being a victim.
John D. Meyers, NB4K
Kentucky Section Manager
Ky. District 7 Amateur Radio Emergency Team
Chairman KD7ARET
218 Cory Lane
Butler, Kentucky 41006
895-472-6690
859-512-9598
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