NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 2, 2005--Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving several stranded flood victims this week in Louisiana and Mississippi. At least one of the incidents received national media attention. On August 29, a call for help involving a combination of cell telephone calls and Amateur Radio led to the rescue of 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. That person 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 Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) net on 14.265 MHz via Russ Fillinger, W7LXR, in Oregon, and Rick Cain, W7KB, in Utah back to Louisiana, where the ARES net contacted emergency personnel who rescued the 15 people and got them to a Red Cross shelter.
"When all else fails, Amateur Radio works is more than a catchy tag line," says TRO's Mark Conklin, N7XYO. "It's a lifeline." National Public Radio interviewed Joplin about the experience for its "All Things Considered" program on August 30.
Fillinger and Cain got attention from regional media for their role in the rooftop rescue.
Cain passed along a similar piece of traffic a day earlier after he got a message that a police officer was stuck in the attic of his house. Although the policeman had a cell phone, he was unable to call his office in New Orleans. Cain relayed the information to others on the SATERN net, but he still doesn't know how the police officer's message reached him or if the man was rescued.
SATERN National Net Director Jim Adams, WA0SLB, reports he got a call on the net August 29 from Bill Simpson, KE4WRH, seeking help in locating two elderly men trapped in their attic in Gulfport, Mississippi, with the water rising. The stranded men, identified as Steven Calcote and John Young, called Simpson because they remembered that he was a radio amateur.
"After receiving the traffic, I tried to get a station on frequency who could deliver the message to authorities, but no stations were on," Adams recounted. After turning over net control duties to Tom Buchan, N9AL, he started making telephone calls, but had no luck. He then called Quentin Nelson, WA4BZY, in Georgia, who's SATERN's national health-and-welfare director. Nelson was able to contact Salvation Army Capt John Robbins, who, in turn, got in touch with Mississippi State Patrol. Authorities were able to rescue the two men.
Adams says the net handled at least two other messages relating to individuals trapped in attics with the water rising. The net also took some 700 health-and-welfare inquiries during its first 12 hours on the air following Hurricane Katrina. By week's end, the number of H&W inquiries had ballooned to more than 12,000, and SATEN was shuttling those to its Web site.
 Red Cross and SATERN volunteer 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] |
Fillinger, a SATERN net controller, also was part of the mix August 29 when the net got word of a family of five trapped in an attic in Diamond Head , Louisiana. The family used a cell phone to call out, but it's not known whom they contacted initially. Bob Rathbone, AG4ZG, in Tampa, says he checked the address on a map and determined it was in an area struck by a storm surge.
Acting on a sudden inspiration, he called the US Coast Guard search-and-rescue station in Clearwater, explained the situation and relayed the information. At this point, the US Coast Guard office in New Orleans was out of commission.
"Two other emergency calls came in with people in trapped in attics," Rathbone said. "That day the SATERN net gradually changed from health and welfare to handling more and more priority and emergency calls."
Rathbone said he was rewarded an hour later by a call from the South Haven Sheriff's Department in Louisiana, which informed him a rescue operation was under way.
"Another search-and-rescue operation I ran with involved three people stuck on a roof, and one was a child," he said. The person was able to send a text message from a cell phone to a family member in Michigan. Once again, the US Coast Guard handled the call.
"Ham radio works when all else doesn't," he concluded.
SHARES Accepting "Any/All" Messages
John Peterson, who's program manager for the federal SHARES (SHAred RESources) HF network, reports HF, VHF and UHF radio are the only means of communication available. "SHARES was used in numerous cases [August 29] to facilitate communication coordination for both federal and military agencies, and also rescue efforts for stranded civilian personnel," he said. Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) stations sometimes participate in SHARES, and most MARS operators are also Amateur Radio licensees.
Peterson said SHARES, which is part of the National Communication System, will continue to be a major communication facility for federal government agencies and military units responding to the Katrina emergency, and "SHARES stations should be prepared for extended operations." He encouraged any and all reports from affected areas.
"Continue to accept any/all station messages, whether they
are SHARES, MARS or otherwise," Peterson advised his net controls. "This event
requires all radio stations to work together as one team." SHARES is
continuing operation 24/7 on 14.396.5 MHz days and 7.632 MHz nights throughout
the disaster response.
 Previous: ARRL President Urges Orderly Amateur Radio Response in Katrina Recovery |  Next: The K7RA Solar Update |