[TCARC-NTX] Fwd: Mobile HF SSB operators are needed in Jasper, Texas

Tue Oct 4 10:58:15 EDT 2005

>From Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, ARRL South Texas Section
Emergency
Coordinator, and forwarded by Tom Blackwell, N5GAR,
ARRL North Texas
Section Manager:

- - - 

Mobile HF SSB operators are needed in Jasper Texas

The city of Jasper Texas is located about 75 miles
North of Beaumont,
and has about 7,500 citizens.  All 35,000 residents of
Jasper county
are among more than 175,000 Texas customers of Entergy
remaining
without electric power in Jasper and other counties
more than one week
after Hurricane Rita.  Just three of Entergy
Corporation's 14 power
generation units are on-line.  231 transmission lines
and 235
substations are out-of-service due to Hurricane Rita's
120+ MPH winds. 
Some estimates are that it will be three to five weeks
before power is
restored in the town of Jasper.  Generators continue
to be the only
power source there.  

Without electric power, the Amateur Radio repeaters in
the area are
only usable when provided with an on-site generator,
and constantly
refueled, a near impossible task where fuel is in
short supply, as well
as expensive.  Not only are communications systems
affected, daily life
is made difficult due to the complete lack of
refrigeration, affecting
both private residences and commercial facilities.

Just to meet the basic nutrition needs of those in the
devastated area,
The Salvation Army (and other organizations) continue
to daily prepare
and distribute over 25,000 meals each day to many
small towns in Jasper
and adjacent counties.  Amateur Radio, primarily 40M
SSB, is
the only viable means to effectively coordinate the
mobile canteens as
they travel out from the kitchen in Jasper.  Ideally,
all five mobile
canteen would be accompanied by an Amateur Radio
operator.  This would
allow prompt reporting of the meals served at each
site and town
visited, and identify areas where more people show up
than there is
food to provide.  With only three mobile HF operators
consistently
available, the canteens without an operator must
return to Jasper to
deliver their report, greatly decreasing the number of
people getting
more than one meal each day.

Barely one week into disaster recovery, some canteens
are on
increasingly fixed distribution routes and locations. 
Others continue
to scout for areas that are so far without regular
food distribution. 
As the food distribution situation stabilizes, the
need for Amateur
Radio operators with each canteen will probably
decrease.  Daily
reports of the number of meals distributed is
necessary to plan the
following days' routes and meals.  Until stabilization
occurs, the daily need for five mobile HF operators
continues.

Across the state of Texas, 62 counties continue to
operate 248 total
shelters, holding over 30,000 occupants.  Hurricane
Rita damage
assessments are still incomplete, due to the focus on
primary life
support operations and communications difficulties. 
Over 1,300 single
family residences have been destroyed, 8,000 sustained
major damage,
and nearly 39,000 have minor damage.  Nearly 1,300
mobile homes have
been destroyed, over 2,000 have major damage, and
nearly 2,400 have
minor damage.

Amateur Radio operators capable of mobile operation on
40 and 75 meters
are needed to assist with communications supporting
mass feeding in the
Jasper Texas area.  Most of the work is outside in
high humidity and
temperatures.  People with medical problems that could
become severe in
these conditions should not volunteer for this
assignment.  The
conditions for the volunteer workers are only slightly
better than
those who live there.  Some operators report air
conditioning, hot
meals, and hot showers.  Bring your own cot and
pillow.  Most
importantly, don't complain about sharing a gymnasium
with hundreds of
new friends.

General class operators with mobile HF SSB capability
are asked to
express their interest and availability via e-mail to
their Section
Emergency Coordinator, or KK5CA at arrl.net.  Even
helping for a few days
will allow The Salvation Army to provide food for more
people each day
in these areas.

Jerry Reimer, KK5CA
ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
ARRL South Texas section

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ARRL North Texas Section
Section Manager: Tom Blackwell, N5GAR
n5gar at arrl.org
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David Johnson
MCP,MCSE,MCSD,MCDBA,CWS
david at justcalldavid.com
kb5ylg at yahoo.com

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Emergency and public service communications,
a hobby of myriad facets, an enhancement to any
other hobby:  The Amateur Radio Service.

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