NEWINGTON, CT, May 17, 2006--Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers have been wrapping up operations in the wake of major flooding that occurred in southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. The flooding has been called the worst in New England in 70 years. Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator and SKYWARN Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, says formal SKYWARN activation in cooperation with the National Weather Service office in Taunton, Massachusetts, ended late Monday.
"We kept SKYWARN in a 'self-activated' mode at the discretion of local ARES and SKYWARN coordinators to check out flooded areas and report updates as the flooding recedes," Macedo told ARRL. "Additional flood warnings were issued for a small part of central Massachusetts and parts of two counties in southern New Hampshire, but checks with Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters indicate no flood issues are occurring in those areas."
River Dance
 A car is almost completely submerged on Walnut Street in Peabody, Massachusetts, while sandbags at the lower left protect a doorway. Eastern Massachusetts SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY, says the recent flooding there is the worst in 70 years. [Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, Photo] |
Several major New England rivers rose above flood stage this week. In Massachusetts, the Saugus River crested at nearly two feet above flood stage--a record for that waterway. The Ipswich River also set a new flood record, cresting nearly a foot and a half above flood stage at S Middleton. In New Hampshire, the Merrimack River recorded its third highest crest on record at Goffs Falls, cresting almost nine feet above flood stage, while it was more than five feet above flood stage at Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Macedo reports that Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) volunteers have been at Region 1 headquarters and the Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (WC1MA), which remains active, supporting communication via Amateur Radio and other means. Massachusetts State RACES Radio Officer Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, said he expected operations at the EOC to end by the afternoon of May 17 as emergency managers shift from response to recovery phase.
Total rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches occurred in the hardest-hit areas with isolated higher amounts, while 2 to 6 inches of rain fell over other parts of New England over the past several days. ARES volunteers delivered several hundred reports of road closures, flood damage to homes, some evacuations and even a problem at a sewage treatment plant in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Macedo said. There were also reports of road and bridge washouts and, in one instance, a railroad bridge was knocked off its foundation in Peabody, Massachusetts.
According to Macedo, Amateur Radio volunteers have been using VHF/UHF repeaters as well as 6 meters, HF and the New England VoIP Integrated Conference Reflector, IRLP Reflector 9123, EchoLink node *NEW-ENG* Node #:9123.
Amateur Radio Links Town EOCs and NWS
 In Haverhill, Massachusetts, a sewage pipe sustained damage as trees fell on a beaver dam, causing it to collapse. [Ron Trainor, KC8CEV, Photo] |
Town EOCs had Amateur Radio and other communication support, but other than telephone Amateur Radio was the only direct link to the NWS-Taunton office. On May 15, the Ipswich EOC, through Emergency Management Director Charlie Cooper, K1CHC, requested information on the Ipswich River as it threatened businesses in the downtown area.
"We were able to facilitate third-party traffic between Cooper
and Bob Thompson, the meteorologist-in-charge at NWS-Taunton, so he could get
the information directly," Macedo said. "Charlie was very happy that we could
perform this function." Working from NWS-Taunton, Carl Aveni, N1FY, handled the
communication between Ipswich and the NWS.
When All Else Fails . . .
Macedo reports a few "communication infrastructure" issues occurred during May 16. The Massachusetts Region 1 headquarters found that while its outgoing telephone service was working okay, it could not receive incoming calls. RACES operator Dennis Brothers, N1DB, on duty at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) EOC, was able to get a message through to Region 1 so personnel there could contact the MEMA EOC.
"It was critical to get that message through to Region 1," said Kinahan. "Compliments were made by the state director and the operations manager on the efforts of RACES for backing up the overloaded phone lines."
Rumor Control
Rumors of dam failures abounded over the course of the flooding. Using Amateur Radio NWS-Taunton worked with the MEMA EOC to dispel those rumors.
"Our job is not just to provide accurate reports but also to refute reports that are inaccurate," said Macedo. "We had no fewer than four instances of possible dam failures reported by various sources. Through Amateur Radio at NWS-Taunton and at the MEMA EOC, we were able to learn the facts--that the dams were not failing but were being monitored for stress, and action was being taken to regulate the stress the significant rainfall had caused." Macedo says the Amateur Radio volunteers used the New England Reflector for these communications.
Eastern Massachusetts ARES to Stand Down
Due to the severity of the flooding, Eastern Massachusetts ARES has been on standby since May 14, but no calls for ARES assistance to backup RACES or to man shelters for towns or Red Cross were received as of May 17. In addition ARES has been backing up SKYWARN by checking out flooded areas.
"Eastern Massachusetts ARES will be standing down as of this morning unless something unexpected happens," Macedo said May 17. "Everyone did a tremendous job during this stressful time in our region."
Many Amateur Radio Volunteers Involved
Primary ham radio responders taking on net control, liaison and SKYWARN spotting duties along rivers and streams included Jay Carter, KA1RVR, New Hampshire ARES-SKYWARN Coordinator; Jim Blaine, WD4JZO, Hillsborough County (NH) ARES SKYWARN Coordinator; William Glidden, KB1LSQ; Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, Massachusetts State RACES Radio Officer; Terry Stader, KA8SCP, Region 1 RACES Radio Officer; Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator; Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, North Shore ARES Emergency Coordinator and Assistant SKYWARN Coordinator, Jeff Arnold, K1EMS, North Shore SKYWARN Coordinator, Bill Ricker, N1VUX, Greater Boston SKYWARN Coordinator, and Ron Trainor, KC8CEV.
At NWS-Taunton, Amateur Radio operators taking part in the operation were Carl Aveni, N1FY, South Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator and Assistant Section Manager Chief of Staff; Phil McLaughlin, KB1CYO, NWS-Taunton Operator; Steve Silvestre, KB1NAR, NWS-Taunton Operator; Tony Duarte, N1XRS, Assistant Emergency Coordinator for SEMARA ARES, and Phil McNamara, N1XTB, ARES Emergency Coordinator for MARS Liaison.
Also, Dennis Brothers, N1DB and Karen Brothers, K1KEB, stationed at the MEMA EOC as RACES volunteers; Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, Massachusetts State RACES Radio Officer, and Steve Schwarm, W3EVE, ARES DEC for Field Operations. Another half-dozen radio amateurs also assisted at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Region 1 headquarters. Region 1 RACES Radio Officer Terry Stader, KA8SCP, led that effort.
"More than 100 Amateur Radio volunteers took part in ARES/RACES operations and weather spotting across the region," Macedo said.
Let the Sunshine In
As of May 17, the National Weather Service was calling for scattered showers over the next few days, but most of the time it will be dry. "
"We finally have the sun out here! I thought I was going
to be blinded when I got up this morning!," Macedo quipped. He predicts the
lull in the rain will allow flood waters to recede more quickly, ending the watery
siege the region has experienced.
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