The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
August 15, 2012
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
IN THIS ISSUE
- Hurricane Center Station WX4NHC Works Ernesto
- Alabama ARES/RACES Ops Support Red Cross Shelter Exercise
- Texas COMMEX Exercise Supported
- FCC Denies Petition Seeking to Designate Nationwide Emergency Calling
Frequency
- NOAA Updates 2012 Hurricane Season Outlook
- ARES Bits and Bytes
- Letters: On Mental Health Risks
- Hurricane Webinar Post Mortem
- K1CE For a Final
==> HURRICANE CENTER STATION WX4NHC WORKS ERNESTO
Operators at WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami, activated their HF and EchoLink/IRLP
operations on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 6 PM EDT, for hurricane
Ernesto. The station continued operations until the storm made landfall
on the southern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula late that evening. The
Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rains and winds, but weakened as it
moved across land. Due to this weakening, the National Hurricane Center
(NHC ) downgraded Ernesto to a tropical storm
at 5 AM EDT Wednesday morning.
WX4NHC operators requested land based stations as well as ships at sea
in the areas affected to send them weather data and damage reports.
Stations were asked to check in to the Hurricane Watch Net,
EchoLink/IRLP channels, and the VoIP Hurricane Net to convey reports.
WX4NHC operators also monitored CWOP , APRS and
MADIS /MESONET automated weather stations in
the affected areas.
WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, thanked outreach
partner Fidelio Cobos, XE3AFC, for sending several detailed reports
during Hurricane Ernesto's onslaught. Fidelio was active on the Mexican
Net on 40 meters and brought back reports via EchoLink with several
submitted directly to the NHC via its on-line reporting form. WX4NHC
monitored the Mexican 40 meter net on 7.060 MHz until landfall and it
was very active, reported Ripoll.
Ripoll said that "this is one example of the benefits gained by being
proactive with our outreach to hams in areas that are affected by
hurricanes." "Our approach of notifying amateurs and clubs throughout
parts of ITU Region 2 that are affected by hurricanes in advance of
hurricane season hopefully brings more active stations to participate
in the HWN, VoIP Nets and other modes or means they can use to send
data to WX4NHC."
Ripoll concluded, "I have witnessed so many times while sitting for
hours in front of a radio at NHC listening to mostly static, we get
that one report that makes a big difference, whether it is a piece of
data that fills in the gap for the hurricane forecasters or a ship in
trouble trying to race to port before it's too late." Ripoll thanked
all operators for their support during Hurricane Ernesto. For more
information on the Amateur Radio station WX4NHC at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami, click here .
==> ALABAMA ARES/RACES OPS SUPPORT RED CROSS SHELTER EXERCISE
Randall Landers, KG4EUD, Mikey Phillips, KI4KOT, and Tracy Stephens,
KI4OZG, with the Calhoun County ARES/RACES in Anniston, Alabama
participated in a recent Red Cross Shelter Exercise conducted by the
Calhoun/Cleburne County Chapter of the American Red Cross. The exercise
centered on the process of setting up a shelter in the event of a
disaster. The scenario in this exercise was a tornado that struck part
of the county and a shelter set up at the Greenbrier Road Baptist
Church.
During the exercise, members of the Red Cross talked with participants
about the different parts of a shelter and how it would operate: The
Sign-In or Processing, Medical Evaluation, Counseling, Dormitory
operations, and food preparations. And, of course, the use of Amateur
Radio operators to support and maintain disaster response and emergency
communications for a disaster at a Red Cross shelter was discussed.
During this exercise, we set up our communications station with the
call sign WX4CAL. We employed two ICOM ID-880 radios along with several
handhelds to operate on our local VHF ARES/RACES repeater and also used
D-STAR digital simplex. We also used a laptop computer with DVAP
that provided
D-STAR digital communications that would have been used for statewide
or worldwide operations if needed. In addition to the Amateur Radio
equipment, we used the GRLevel3 weather
radar program, which would have been a valuable tool for use if this
had been an actual event.
During the course of the day the participants were rotated to and from
each station to learn more about each shelter function. At our
communication area, both Landers and Stephens explained to the Red
Cross volunteers about Amateur Radio operations in the event of a true
disaster, and more specifically, at a Red Cross shelter.
Karen Howle-Hurst, American Red Cross Mid-Alabama Region District
Emergency Services Specialist, was on hand to watch the exercise and
was pleased to have the Calhoun County ARES/RACES as a part of the
shelter exercise. A bonus was that there was one Red Cross Intern and
one Red Cross volunteer who wanted to know more about how to get
licensed.
Landers was also pleased at how smoothly the exercise went. The station
was set up quickly and all radio operators were ready to perform their
duties as Red Cross Shelter communications volunteers. He also
indicated that if there had been a need for our ARES/RACES Emergency
Communication Trailer there would have been plenty of room to park it
next to the building close to the room where the radios had been set
up.
The purpose and responsibility of the Calhoun County ARES/RACES is to
furnish communications to the public safety agencies of Calhoun County
and the general public, in the event of a disaster situation when
regular communications fail or are inadequate for a particular
situation or overloaded. For more information about the Calhoun County
ARES/RACES please visit their web site or you
can follow them on Twitter @KD4CAL. -- Tracy A. Stephens, KI4OZG,
Public Relations Officer, Calhoun County ARES/RACES
==> TEXAS COMMEX EXERCISE SUPPORTED
The Texas Department of Public Safety in cooperation with the
Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications
conducted a COMMEX (Communications Exercise) on August 8 and 9, 2012,
at the Harris County Fire and Sheriffs Academy in Humble, Texas. The
COMMEX is a simulated emergency event exercise to assist Communication
Leaders (COML) and Communication Technicians (COMT) become qualified
through their respective agencies to fulfill those roles in emergency
deployments under the Incident Command System (ICS). Paul Gilbert,
KE5ZW, ARRL West Gulf Division Assistant Director for Public Safety,
assisted Michael Wassell, Technology Manager for the City of
Atascocita, Texas Fire Department with "Tech Room" activities. The
training stations included one that gave familiarization with Amateur
Radio technology and abilities to the students who came from various
public safety agencies from across the State of Texas. - Paul Gilbert,
KE5ZW , ARRL West Gulf Division Assistant Director for
Public Safety
==> FCC DENIES PETITION SEEKING TO DESIGNATE NATIONWIDE EMERGENCY
CALLING FREQUENCY
Saying that it believes that the Amateur Service "allows flexibility to
provide emergency communications in a way that takes into account
channel availability and other local conditions," the FCC denied a
Petition for Rulemaking to create a nationwide emergency calling
frequency
.
The Petition --
filed by Bryan Boyle, WB0YLE, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and Jim
Dixon, WB6NIL, of Alhambra, California -- called upon the FCC to
designate 146.550 MHz as a "non-exclusive nationwide Amateur Radio
Service emergency communications channel using FM wideband modulation."
Doyle and Dixon noted in their Petition that other services, such as
the Citizens Band Radio Service, the Aviation Service and the Maritime
Service have specific channels set aside for emergency communications.
They claimed that use of these channels "to good effect by those in
distress [and that this] is a testament to the need for individual
services to have a readily accessible and publicized" emergency
communications channel. In denying the Petition, the FCC said in part
that Boyle and Dixon "had not shown an existing problem that would be
addressed by a rule change designating a nationwide Amateur Service
emergency calling frequency."
The FCC told Boyle and Dixon that the rules of the Amateur Radio
Service allow "an amateur station to transmit one-way messages
necessary to providing emergency communications," maintaining that
these messages may "be transmitted on any frequency authorized [by] the
control operator of the amateur stations transmitting the messages.
Additionally, the rules require that, at all times and on all
frequencies, each control operator must give priority to stations
providing emergency communications. Administration of these rules is
accomplished primarily through voluntary frequency planning by, and
cooperation among, Amateur Radio operators." Read more here
.
-- ARRL Letter
==> NOAA UPDATES 2012 HURRICANE SEASON OUTLOOK
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA
), the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season
has been "busy," with six named storms since the season began June 1.
In May 2012, NOAA forecasters originally indicated a 50 percent chance
for a near-normal season in 2012, and predicted the chances for an
above-normal season at 25 percent and a below-normal season at 25
percent. But on August 9, NOAA revised the chances for an above-normal
season -- upping the odds to 35 percent -- while saying that the
chances for a below-normal season have decreased to 15 percent.
Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the season -- June 1 to November
30 -- NOAA's updated seasonal outlook projects a total (including the
2012 tropical storms Alberto, Beryl, Debbie, Florence and the 2012
hurricanes Chris and Ernesto) of 12 to 17 named storms (top winds of 39
miles per hour or higher), including 5 to 8 hurricanes (top winds of 74
miles per hour or higher) of which 2 to 3 could be major hurricanes
(Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of at least 111 miles per hour).
The numbers are higher from the initial outlook in May, which called
for 9-15 named storms, 4-8 hurricanes and 1-3 major hurricanes. Based
on a 30 year average, a normal Atlantic hurricane season produces 12
named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. "We are
increasing the likelihood of an above-normal season because
storm-conducive wind patterns and warmer-than-normal sea surface
temperatures are now in place in the Atlantic," said NOAA Climate
Prediction Center Lead Seasonal Hurricane Forecaster Dr Gerry Bell.
"These conditions are linked to the ongoing high activity era for
Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995. Also, strong early-season
activity is generally indicative of a more active season." But NOAA
seasonal climate forecasters also announced on August 9 that El Niño
will likely develop in August or September. "El Niño is a competing
factor, because it strengthens the vertical wind shear over the
Atlantic, which suppresses storm development," Bell explained. "But we
don't expect El Niño's influence until later in the season."
Saying that there is still "a long way to go until the end of the
season," National Weather Service Acting Director Laura Furgione
advised that "we shouldn't let our guard down. Hurricanes often bring
dangerous inland flooding, as we saw a year ago in the Northeast with
Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Even people who live hundreds
of miles from the coast need to remain vigilant through the remainder
of the season." -- Thanks to NOAA for the information - ARRL Letter
==> ARES BITS AND BYTES
* National Community/Neighborhood Exercise Series Continues -- The
series of Formidable Footprint exercises for neighborhood, community
and faith based organizations continues on August 25 with a hurricane
exercise and on September 29 for a solar storm exercise. A flood
scenario is planned for October 27. Exercises have also been scheduled
for the following scenarios: Earthquake; Influenza Pandemic; Tornado;
and Wildfire. The Formidable Footprint exercise series has been
developed in accordance with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation
Program (HSEEP) protocols. The objective of the exercise series is for
CERTs, Neighborhood Watch Programs, Neighborhood Associations,
Community/Faith Based Organizations, Citizen Corps, Fire Corps and
others to work as a team to become better prepared for the next
disaster their community may face. There is NO CHARGE for participation
in any of the Formidable Footprint exercises. For additional
information or to register for upcoming exercises, click here
.
* IS-144 Telecommun​icators Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) Basic
Course is available here
. While this course
applies to Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP) personnel, there is some
information in this course that would directly apply to Amateur Radio
operators deployed to a disaster site. In my opinion, it would be
appropriate for SKYWARN, ARES, and RACES operators. - Lloyd Colston,
KC5FM, Altus, Oklahoma Emergency Management
==> LETTERS: ON MENTAL HEALTH RISKS
I wanted to comment on your insightful article in July 2012 QST on ARES
and mental health risks. It brought back some uncomfortable memories of
Hurricane Andrew response. When I was the RACES coordinator in Dade
County for that event, I sent more than 150 amateurs into the field.
Among the bad memories was the ham who was sent to Homestead and was
killed by lightning while helping unload a helicopter. He is one of the
names on the memorial plaque at ARRL HQ in Newington containing the
names and call signs of hams to die in service.
Although no one blamed me for having deployed him there, it weighed
heavily on my mind for a number of years. Similarly, I witnessed a
number of emergency responders - both hams and non-hams - crack under
the pressure of response, some in highly responsible government
positions.
Among the results and after-action analyses of Andrew, we established
that hams would be eligible for county-administered CISD - Critical
Incident Stress Debriefing - a form of psychotherapy for individuals
suffering from PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was recognized
that hams in stressful communication situations can suffer the same
PTSD as public safety professionals and other emergency responders.
This service should be available in all municipalities and agencies
where amateurs often end up not only passing on the messages of others
but by default making some very responsible decisions themselves. --
Joel Kandel, KI4T, Former Chairman, ARRL Emergency Communications
Advisory Committee
==> HURRICANE WEBINAR POST MORTEM
On July 17th the ARRL hosted the 2012 Hurricane Webinar with
presentations by VOIP WX Net, the Hurricane Watch Net, WX4NHC, and ARRL
HQ Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. While the webinar
was generally well attended and the presentation covered a lot of
valuable material, the webinar was fraught with problems. The feedback
that was received has been reviewed and we are making plans to apply
corrections to next year's hurricane webinar. Our sincere apologies for
the problems with this one, it did not live up to the high expectations
of the presenters or the attendees.
That being said, the webinar was recorded and has been placed on the
website available for download. You can access the webinar video here
.
Thank you again to all who attended and stuck it out through the issues
and problems.
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL
It is time to consider the drafting and development of an ARES QSO
Party. I think the demand for such an operating event would be very
high, given the rise in interest in public service, disaster response,
emergency communications and indeed the ARES program itself since 9/11.
An ARES QSO Party would promote on-the-air practice of skills of
message handling and efficiency, and would go a long way towards
networking of local, district and Section ARES groups across the
country. To create this operating event would require ARRL Board of
Directors' approval, but we in the ARES community can start the ball
rolling by drafting a specific proposal for ultimate Board
consideration. Ideas?
See you next month! 73, Rick Palm, K1CE, Daytona Beach, Florida
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