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Subj: ARES E-Letter August 15, 2012
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter August 15, 2012
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
*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
Yucat n 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 Ni¤o
will likely develop in August or September. "El Ni¤o 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
Ni¤o'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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