ARES
Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC, Delaware EC
Delaware SET went well
The SET for Delaware County was held October 15, and was a successful test of our ability to
communicate and function in the aftermath of a disaster. Our scenario was a tornado which
damaged the greater Ostrander area. We were tasked with a “windshield survey” to determine
the scope of damage. In the situation, worked out in cooperation with EMA Director Sean Miller,
we dispatched mobile operators to do a “house count” of several areas of heavy population.
One thing learned: Ostrander is in a ‘hole’ and you can’t get here from there on simplex. Craig,
W8CR, grasped the situation immediately and positioned his vehicle between the target area
and the ARC to do several relays from other operators further west. It wasn’t something we
planned, but the solution was simple and eloquent…even it if kept Craig busy!
We moved to the 19 repeater about midway through the exercise and all worked well. Operators
did a good job in reporting the situations we had thrown at them. As luck would have it, Chief
Dale wound up having to report a working fire and hazmat incident… not his first rodeo with
that!
Many thanks to all who participated - our community is in good hands.
Amateur Radio - still a critical function in the storms
The following comes from the most recent ARRL Letter, describing amateur radio’s activity
during hurricane Ian - a historic storm that wiped cross Florida. I realize we’re not in a hurricane
zone, but it’s refreshing and challenging to read about their combined activities. While reading,
consider how we in Ohio and the midwest would react?
Ian Meets ARES
By Christine Duez, K4KJN, Section Emergency Coordinator, ARRL West Central Florida Section
Hurricane Ian roared ashore near Ft. Myers on September 28 as a category 4 hurricane packing
150 MPH winds. Duwain Hunt, W8JJV, of Port Charlotte, part of the ARRL West Central Florida
Section, called it the event of a lifetime - one he never wanted to repeat. Hunt graphically
compared it to being run over by a 1,000-car freight train while being sprayed down with a fire
hose. During the recent Section ARES meeting, we took a look at some of the problems
confronted by ARES operators and how they worked with valor, determination, and common
sense to solve them.
Hunt operated from his home emergency station. All 94 residents in his complex made it
through without harm or major incident. More than 25 inches of rain fell. Flooding was
widespread. One shelter in Charlotte had 2 inches of water on the floor and to avoid rising
waters, the radio operators resorted to getting on top of tables to keep communications going.
Another shelter operator couldn't transmit from inside the building, so the operator trained the
shelter manager on the radio so he could go outside to maintain the antenna. Another shelter
lost its roof and had to be evacuated. Hunt's takeaway: shelters must be staffed by those who
can think on their feet. You can never anticipate or drill for every eventuality a storm like Ian
may present.
Chuck Johnston, W4CWJ, of Rural Communications, an internet service provider, spoke next. He
heads the Sarasota Agricultural Response Group (SARG) net. (They had run two extensive drills,
High and Dry [first operational period] and High and Dry 2 [second operational period] that
prepared them for dam breaks and flooding.) Counties on the east side of the I-75 corridor are
rural and have large herds of horses and cattle. Meat and dairy are huge industries in the
region.
SARG chose NXDN (Next Generation Digital Narrowband, NXDN, is an open standard for public
land mobile radio systems) radio equipment because it works well in the fringe areas of other
repeaters. They also used it to network between Sarasota and Charlotte counties without tying
up other repeaters. Before the storm, they used the system to notify and assist the Sheriff with
clearing a blocked roadway into a large subdivision that would later be closed for emergency
services only. After the storm, they worked with the State to service a three-county area and set
up a resource staging area.
In Myakka City alone, more than 700 head of cattle were lost to flooding. SARG worked six
animal emergencies, five human welfare checks and rescues, and six road closures. One of their
anemometers in rural Sarasota recorded 135 MPH sustained winds and the Myakka River levels
exceeded all previous records. True flood stage levels will never be known. They also worked
with Sarasota ARES to establish communication between the North Port EOC and the Sarasota
EOC. When electricity and the P25 link went down, there was no way to communicate until ham
radio solved the problem. At around 3:00 AM, a dam breach flooded about 40 homes and water
quickly rose up to the windowsills in the Hidden River area. SARG responded to a local church
and set up a communication point there. Another invaluable service was the situational reports
(sitreps) on roads provided by SARG to assist those trying to bring supplies and aid into
damaged areas.
Sarasota ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) Gary Wells, WB9AYD, added that right after the
storm passed, North Port was without communication, internet, or water. Dispatch was handled
from a motor home outside City Hall. They ran comms from Wells' car through a linked repeater
system that gave the North Port Chief access to the Sarasota Chief. The problem was a loss of
alignment between two antenna dishes. By 3:00 PM, they had comms back up. At that time the
water was closing major roadways. Sarasota has no radio room at the EOC, so operators swiftly
set up in the lobby and used runners to pass messages for 3 days. One big improvement will be
a facility at the Red Cross with representatives of CERT, the Red Cross, and ARES all in one place.
They also decided to go to the NXDN radio for better coverage.
Charlotte County EC Tom Chance, K9XV, reported on severe wind damage from 124 MPH winds
lasting 24 hours. One of Charlotte's biggest problems was getting volunteers. Citizens were
reluctant to leave family and potentially be in a lockdown situation for up to 36 hours. Three
shelters were set up; two suffered serious damage, losing roofs that let in both rain and wind.
Communication problems affected everyone and one shelter with dialysis patients had to be
evacuated. Four of seven towers were down and P25 was disabled after the eye of the storm
had passed over. Operators worked on antennas and had P25 and amateur radio back up soon
after the storm passed. Two repeaters suffered major damage, losing the main communications
coordination system during the eye of the storm and operators had to move to backup systems,
a process that went smoothly. They were thrilled with the NXDN radios and protocol because
they were clear and dependable.
A special thanks went to Paul Toth, NB9X: His weather briefings were timely and better than
those given on commercial stations. Charlotte had invaluable hourly reports from Toth on NXDN
who worked with NOAA to make sure the ARRL West Central Florida Section had the very latest
information. As soon as the NOAA report was received, Toth forwarded it to the EOC
management and read it over the NI4CE repeater system. Another huge positive for NXDN was
a Recovery/Resource Net for the week following Ian. Charlotte used it to pass information on
road closures, and other pertinent information several times each day. One more good outcome
was that a fine relationship was established between ARES, the EOC, and the Joint Information
System. [The JIS is the fourth NIMS Command and Coordination structure. JIS integrates incident
information and public affairs into a unified organization that provides consistent, coordinated,
accurate, accessible, timely and complete information to the public and stakeholders during
incident operations. -- Ed.] Everyone is now on the same page with the same information - that
is a BIG plus. It will still be another month before an after-action report (AAR) can be completed.
The county is still very much engaged in recovery.
Hunt added that with the two major roads and many surface streets closed due to flooding, they
were isolated. For 3 days food and gas were at a premium. Gas lines were impossibly long and
residents were advised that it was faster to go to a neighboring county than to wait in the lines.
Consider this staggering fact: of 125,000 electric customers in Charlotte, only 2,000 had power
when Ian left. Many thanks went to the 57,000 electrical workers who labored tirelessly to
restore the power.
So much data was accumulating so rapidly, it was impossible to disseminate reliable
information quickly and accurately. Once again, SARG filled in with sitreps on rural areas and
back ways to get into the area. Some areas were totally cut off, but SARG had conducted
extensive drills using experienced amateur radio operators as net control stations to keep
information up to the minute for residents and emergency workers in east Sarasota and
throughout the rural areas of Charlotte, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties.
Sanford Wyatt, KM4WXX, lost power, grabbed a flashlight to look outside and found water at his
doorstep. With only 20 minutes to save what he could, he had to pass the net control duties on
and relocate his station to the second floor. His comment - "we stayed on the air because we
had a lot of people who could think on their feet."
Hardee County EC Darrell Davis, KT4WX, reported mostly loss of electricity, and flooding. Hardee
is an inland county, but has two large rivers that converge. Flooding and road closures were a
major problem. Without electricity or cell phone service, Hillsborough County brought a
portable communication package to Hardee County. Many of the routes into the area of
extreme damage were through Hardee and Highlands counties. Sitreps were important to those
trying to get to coastal counties.
Mike Lechky, W0MJL, in Highlands County, operated from a hotspot in his car. He was located in
a special needs shelter that lost power and needed help for a dialysis patient. The EOC was
running on generator power and the only person still there was Randy Payne, K4EZM. For a
while, he was the only communications Highlands had. Happily, they did get the patient help
thanks to ham radio.
Hillsborough is a coastal county that braced for Ian, but was spared when the storm turned
sooner than anticipated. They had 28 amateur radio operators and opened four special needs
shelters. By Monday afternoon there was a total of 1,700 volunteer hours given to Ian response.
One major problem they noted is that the school server is housed in a flood zone. It was closed
for safety reasons, leaving the shelters with only ham radio communication. One success story
was the location of an oversized ambulance to transport an infant in an incubator to St. Josephs
Children's hospital.
Pasco County EC Tim Cunningham, KM4YGV, reported minimal hurricane damage. Pasco is the
farthest north of the West Central Florida Section counties. He did head into Ft. Myers to rescue
his father and was caught in a huge traffic backup due to road flooding. After many hours in a
traffic jam, ham radio again saved the day by finding him a way to get his dad much needed
medical care.
Polk County EC and ARRL West Central Florida SEC Christine Duez, K4KJN, reported widespread
tree damage and power outages. Flooding in the southern portion of the county was a major
concern. The EOC was on lockdown as part of the eye wall passed over. Being inland, Ian had
already started losing its punch. Citizens did experience gusts of up to 135 MPH, but sustained
winds were much lower. Polk also suffered from a need for more amateur radio operators, but
took advantage of those who were resourceful and had alternate power supplies at their own
homes.
Amateur Radio is more than
a hobby- it becomes an
important service when
other forms of
communication fail. It’s up
to all of us to stay ready,
stay trained, and stay
available. We could be
required on a moment’s
notice.
Delaware County ARES is part of the
national ARRL program. We rely on
our volunteers. We operate during
several large public events including
the national-level Ironman
competition.
We hold a radio net on the 145.19
repeater (no tone) on the second
Thursday of every month at 8PM.
We hold a training meeting on the
first Thursday of every month at 7:30
usually at the Red Cross building. All
amateurs are invited!
For information, contact Stan, N8BHL
the Delaware County Emergency
Coordinator, or Joe, K8MP or Craig,
W8CR.