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![Previous (earlier) Story](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081104064014im_/http://www.arrl.org/images/sty-down.gif "Life Aboard ISS "Very Comfortable," Astronaut Tells Japanese Youngsters"){kind=small} Previous: Life Aboard ISS "Very Comfortable," Astronaut Tells Japanese Youngsters |  Next: Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Signup Database Now Open |
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 31, 2005--UPDATED--Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers in Louisiana are engaged in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, and more are waiting in the wings to help as soon as they can enter storm-ravaged zones. Winds and flooding from the huge storm wreaked havoc in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after Katrina came ashore early Monday, August 29. Louisiana ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Gary Stratton, K5GLS, told ARRL that some 250 ARES members have been working with relief organizations and emergency management agencies. Much of the affected areas remain flooded and dangerous, however. As a result, state officials have not allowed emergency or other units to enter the flooded zones, and there is still no communication with many coastal areas.
"If everyone who has volunteered came, we could fill the state," Stratton told ARRL. "But, please hold on. It's going to be a very long time [recovering] from this."
The West Gulf Emergency Net remains active (7.285 MHz days/3.873 MHz nights). A high volume of health-and-welfare requests initially slowed passage of critical tactical and emergency traffic, so health-and-welfare traffic is being moved to 7.290 MHz days/3.935 MHz nights.
The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) on 14.265 MHz has been accepting and handling health-and-welfare inquiries on the air and via its Web site. SATERN reports it received more than 700 health-and-welfare requests in the first 12 hours after Katrina hit. The Salvation Army also is using Amateur Radio for its tactical communications. SATERN says the health-and-welfare demand is so heavy that it's threatening to overwhelm the Internet server.
The American Red Cross advises it's also handling health-and-welfare inquiries via its toll-free "Get Info" hotline, 866-GET INFO (866-438-4636).
Radio amateurs not involved in emergency communication are being asked to keep the West Gulf Emergency Net and SATERN frequencies clear, plus or minus 5 kHz. ARRL advises that stations not initiate any traffic into the storm-affected areas at this time, since the primary activity is focused on supporting search-and-rescue, relief and recovery operations.
Hurricane Katrina's fierce winds and heavy rains now are being blamed for more than 120 deaths as well as the destruction of homes and businesses. Many trees uprooted, taking down power lines and blocking highways, hampering emergency and repair crews. Rescue personnel worked through the night to save stranded residents, some floating on rooftops or simply swimming for their lives. An estimated two million people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are without power.
ARES volunteers from outside the directly affected areas have been mustering to assist, but, Stratton says, until units can enter the flooded disaster areas "there's no place they can go yet." Louisiana Section Manager Mickey Cox, K5MC, told ARRL that at least some Louisiana ARES teams also are in a holding pattern, awaiting word from relief agencies as to what they need in terms of communication support and where, before they can officially activate.
Louisiana Section Manager Mickey Cox, K5MC, reports Richard Webb, NF5B, from New Orleans was on the air from the Louisiana State University Hospital as of Monday afternoon during the storm. Sections of New Orleans now are under water. Louisiana Assistant SM Mike King, W5MP, of Slidell, also was on the air Monday helping provide communication from a hospital on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Long-Distance Ham Radio Rescue
 Ben Joplin, WB5VST, in Oklahoma City, is interviewed by local news media after getting word through to Louisiana officials that 15 people were stranded on a roof there. [Mark Conklin, N7XYO, Photo] |
A call for help that involved a combination of cell telephone calls and Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving 15 people stranded by floodwaters on the roof of a house in New Orleans. Unable to get through an overloaded 911 system, one of those stranded called a relative in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That individual, in turn, called another relative, Sybil Hayes in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, whose 81-year-old aunt Helen Elzy was among those clinging to the roof along with other family members.
Hayes called the American Red Cross chapter, which contacted the Tulsa Repeater Organization. Using the Red Cross chapter's well-equipped amateur station, TRO member Ben Joplin, WB5VST, was able to relay a request for help on the 20-meter SATERN net via stations in Oregon and Utah to Louisiana, where the ARES net contacted emergency personnel who rescued the 15 people.
"When all else fails, Amateur Radio works is more than a catchy tag line," says TRO's Mark Conklin, N7XYO. "It's a lifeline." He said as of late Monday evening, Elzy and the others on the roof were safe at a Red Cross shelter.
National Public Radio interviewed Joplin about the experience for its "All Things Considered" program on August 30.
Alabama
Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, reports sporadic power outages in the northern part of the state where he lives. Katrina moved through the region Monday evening, bringing flooding rains and high winds. Amateur Radio SKYWARN nets were active Monday, reporting the severe weather conditions to the National Weather Service. Sarratt himself handled a volunteer shift at the Huntsville NWS office Monday evening. He told ARRL Headquarters that ARES groups throughout the state--and especially in central and southern Alabama--have been supporting communication for local emergency management agencies and the Red Cross.
Mississippi
Because telephone circuits are out or overloaded, ARRL has received little firsthand information so far from Mississippi on Amateur Radio emergency response activities there. Mississippi Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX, in Vicksburg, was reported on the air using generator power and makeshift antennas. His area has no electrical power or telephone service. Assistant Mississippi SM Edwin Franks, AD5IF, says people have been calling him at home to get information about friends and relatives in the stricken area. Thomas Hammack, W4WLF, in Gulfport, has been volunteering at the Harrison County emergency operations center.
Mutual Aid
South Texas SEC Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, says Amateur Radio operators are being deployed from Houston for a communications assignment at the New Orleans Superdome. Because of additional flooding, damage to the facility and other problems at the Superdome, authorities plan to relocate some 25,000 flood evacuees from the Superdome by bus convoy to the Houston Astrodome. Hams would assist in that effort, which could take two or three days.
Sarratt will be among about a half dozen radio amateurs from Alabama preparing to head to Jackson, Mississippi, to provide communication and other assistance for the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team. Another group from Alabama will be heading on to southern Mississippi or Louisiana once they get their assignments confirmed, Sarratt said.
ARRL Northern Florida SM Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, reports his section is putting together a team of Amateur Radio operators to assist in neighboring Mississippi, once they get clearance to go there. The Florida mutual assistance team will be coordinated through the Florida State Emergency Operations Center. ARRL Southern Florida SM Sherri Brower, W4STB, reports amateurs in her section also have indicated their willingness to help.
Hurricane Watch Net, WX4NHC Stand Down
The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) secured operation on 14.325 MHz for Hurricane Katrina at 0115 UTC today. "Thanks to all for your support for what has been a very exhaustive 48 hours of extensive effort as Hurricane Katrina caused extreme damage along the Louisiana and Mississippi shores and surrounding area," said HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP. The net works in cooperation with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to gather real-time, ground-level weather data during storms. NHC forecasters use the reports to help fine-tune their predictions of a storm's behavior.
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