[SFDXA] ARES Activated in Eight Maryland Counties for Severe Flooding

[Bill]

    ARES Activated in Eight Maryland Counties for Severe Flooding

05/29/2018

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers in the Maryland-DC 
Section activated in the wake of regional flash flooding on May 27. Hit 
especially hard was Ellicott City, where vehicles were reported to have 
been washed away by fast-moving flood waters upward of 10 feet deep. At 
least one person was reported to be missing.

“As many watched Alberto, radio amateurs in Maryland watched more and 
more rain locally,” said ARRL Assistant Maryland-DC Section Manager and 
Public Information Coordinator Ken Reid, KG4USN.

By 5 PM, heavy rain, as much as 8 to 10 inches,soaked portions of 
central and southern Maryland.” The flooding disaster was the second 
since 2016 in historic downtown Ellicott City, which was still 
recovering from the earlier event. High water also affected Arbutus, 
Dundalk, and Catonsville. Section leadership asked radio amateurs in the 
flood-affected areas to check on the health and welfare of their 
neighbors. Reid said high-water rescues were needed in Perry Hall and 
Patapsco State Park.

When the flooding quickly became serious in several locations, MDC 
Section Manager Marty Pittinger, KB3MXM, activated ARES in eight central 
Maryland counties at 6:30 PM EDT, and 15 minutes later,more than 40 ARES 
volunteers reported to their respective 2-meter nets in five counties. 
The majority of flood-affected communities were in Anne Arundel, Prince 
Georges, and Howard counties. Amateur Radio volunteers in the MDC 
Section provided additional situational awareness, and Pittinger 
interfaced with Atlantic Division leadership, Maryland Section Emergency 
Coordinator Jim Montgomery, WB3KAS, and state and local authorities.

“Many county [emergency operations centers] in affected areas were also 
activated. Anne Arundel County ARES and Howard County ARES were in 
communication with their local Emergency Management Agencies and were 
both told to stand by in case of need,” Reid said. Maryland Governor 
Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency.

“Regular situational awareness updates were shared throughout the nets 
to ensure communication readiness for served agencies, community 
leadership, neighbors, first responders, and fellow radio amateurs,” 
Reid said. Conventional telecommunications continued to function 
throughout the heavy weather, which caused road closures and power and 
natural gas outages.

The MDC ARES volunteers remained in duty until 10:15 PM on May 28. 
During the activation, radio amateurs made use of VHF, UHF, and HF 
capabilities, as well as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes.

http://www.arrl.org/news/ares-activated-in-eight-maryland-counties-for-severe-flooding