[South Florida DX Association] Amateur Radio's Role Get Favorable Mention in Post-Katrina Report

[Bill Marx]

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)