An example of the level of damage in some parts of Mississippi. A house once stood on this spot. |
At the Montgomery staging area: Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK (left), and El Erby, K4DJL, a volunteer who's managing the net tying shelters with Red Cross. [Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, Photo] |
"More and more people are committing to go," said ARRL Assistant to the CEO David Patton, NN1N, who's been a prime coordinator of the Katrina response at ARRL Headquarters. Patton says a major task at this point is matching up Amateur Radio resources not already committed to Red Cross sites with other relief agencies that also need communications. Meanwhile, as volunteers begin arriving from all parts of the US, the ARRL urges that no one head out into the disaster zone without an assignment.
A lot of the volunteers who responded to the Red Cross appeal are gathering initially in Montgomery, Alabama, for deployment to sites where they're most needed. Others, particularly those arriving from the west, are being directed to specific sites. ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, the main point of contact at Montgomery, already had registered 42 operators through the Red Cross. Volunteers have turned out from as far away as Washington and Oregon, New Mexico, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Ontario, he reports.
"It is major confusion, major chaos, and we're not even in the disaster area," Sarratt told ARRL today from a former Wal-Mart building. "We've got people coming in from all over the US--they're trickling in. Some are bringing communication trailers. The response via e-mails and phone calls has been tremendous."
Difficult, Rewarding Work
The Red Cross has indicated its primary needs are in Mississippi, Alabama and Northern Florida, but ARRL anticipates volunteers will be needed in Louisiana and Texas as well, not only by the Red Cross but by other relief organizations.
"This will be a difficult job--but it also has to be a rewarding job," volunteers are being told in a communiqué that went out to those being given the go-ahead to proceed to the Montgomery marshaling area. "This is likely the assignment for which you have prepared."
But Amateur Radio volunteers are also cautioned that duty in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster will be "generally a hardship assignment" that will involve working in shifts and living in shelters. Just how long the Red Cross and other relief organizations--including The Salvation Army and local emergency management--will need the services of Amateur Radio volunteers remains to be seen. Anyone considering volunteering also should make sure their vaccinations for such diseases as tetanus, diphtheria, "childhood" diseases such as measles, mumps and chicken pox, and possibly even hepatitis B are up to date.
Amateur Radio in Action
Some ARES groups have been making their contribution from home. Here, members of the Ohio District 6 ARES team took part in a fundraiser September 3 in Mansfield that was collecting donations for Hurricane Katrina relief. [Photo courtesy of Jay Bookwalter, KC8GNL] |
Many flood refugees already have been relocated from Louisiana to Texas, radio amateurs were being requested over the weekend to help at the Houston Astrodome, now home to some 12,000 evacuees. South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, says Harris County EC Hal Merritt, KD5HWW, is scheduling 24 operators a day for around-the-clock duty at the Astrodome and the Reliant Center next door, as well as at the Harris County EOC.
"There are teams operating in Covington and Washington Parish, Louisiana, supporting local emergency management, command and control, Red Cross and other relief operations," Reimer said. "In Mississippi, there is a desperate need for operators in the coastal counties."
Louisiana Section Emergency Coordinator Gary Stratton, K5GLS, told ARRL that ARES has been using WinLink 2000 in Covington, Louisiana, to pass e-mail via HF during the emergency. Stratton said John Wagner, WA5VBP, was flown into New Orleans to equip Mayor Ray Nagin's office with WinLink for emergency communication. A Georgia Baptist group--the Chattahoochee Baptist Association, W4CBA--has fielded a WinLink operation in eastern Mississippi.
Local ARES/RACES teams already have volunteered to assist at other refugee relocation sites. These include the old barracks at Ft McClellan in Anniston, Alabama--which has been given the code name "Starship."
"The Calhoun County ARES/RACES group will provide emergency communication and health-and-welfare reports for the evacuees," reports Calhoun County Emergency Coordinator Randall Landers, KG4EUD. He's asking all radio amateurs in the area to assist in communication.
In San Antonio, Texas, Jim Brown, WA5UMY, reports a group of radio amateurs from the Montana Baptist Convention set up over the weekend "Field Day style" at another refugee relocation site at the former Kelly Air Force Base. They plan to handle health-and-welfare traffic and other communication needs for evacuees.
Until he sent much of his ham gear out of harm's way, ARRL Life Member Tom Miller, AC5TM, in New Orleans, was on the air running phone patches and emergency traffic on HF. A city employee, Miller--whose house remains under six to eight feet of water--now is at a pumping station attempting to remove water from those parts of the city that flooded when levees burst. "It's been very chaotic here," he told ARRL. "I've never seen so many helicopters in my entire life." Miller expressed special appreciation to the SATERN net, the Intercontinental Net and the Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) for their assistance.
ARRL Staffer En Route to Hurricane Zone
Among those heading through the Montgomery staging area on his way to Mississippi's Gulf Coast is ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV. He's carrying along a complete HF station that includes a 1 kW amplifier, plus supplies and shelter.
"Somewhere between here and Mississippi, there's a demarcation zone, and it's kind of a gray area," Motschenbacher told ARRL today. "Everything on this side of it is normal. And somewhere as you drive the four hours to a likely shelter site in Louisiana or Mississippi, the world changes, and it goes from this place here where I just had a McDonald's hamburger to where people have no food."
SHARES, SATERN Join Forces
SATERN National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, reports that the federal SHARES (ShAred RESources) network--a collection of government, military and Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) radio stations--has joined forces with SATERN to help with the Hurricane Katrina response.
"SATERN continues to help with emergency communications to and from the impact area devastated by Katrina and has received to date over 48,000 requests for assistance," he said. "The addition of the SHARES network will provide an opportunity for The Salvation Army to talk on federal frequencies to agencies about the task of helping in the disaster and bring additional support to the task before us."
Ham Radio Making a Difference
Sarratt says Amateur Radio is making a difference. "It's making a huge difference," he emphasized, although the need continues. The word he's received from Mississippi is that Harrison County and Gulfport are totally devastated. "They just called me. They want 10 more amateurs a.s.a.p. Right now I don't have 'em."
Fortunately, most of those showing up in Montgomery have come prepared, like Motschenbacher, with their own gear and supplies, so they can be reasonably self sufficient during their stay.
For his part, Motschenbacher says, his plan is to come back to Connecticut with essentially nothing but the clothes on his back. He says his wife, Lieska, sent some laundry detergent along with him so he can wash his clothes and give them to someone who needs them. His extra shoes will remain behind as well.
"She says, 'I don't want to see any of this when you come back. It belongs down there with somebody.' So when I leave, I'm going to leave it all with somebody."
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