Emergency-Communications

Eastern MA Section Emergency Coordinator and SKYWARN Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes on Facebook on August 20, 2021:

If you live in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, now is the time to prepare for Henri and expected far reaching impacts. Along and east of the track – damaging winds, possibility for severe weather and coastal storm surge flooding. And yes, even though the official track is over near the eastern tip of Long Island NY to the CT/RI border, a hurricane is not a point and we will be on the stronger east side of the system.

Remember Irene, Sandy and even Isaias last year. There will be impacts in the region. On what degree or scale, still subject for change but we should be prepared. If it ends up being less than full significant potential, we will be ready for the next big potential weather event. Also, with the current weather pattern in place, I would not be surprised if we are doing this again for another tropical system between now and mid-October so take the time to prepare.

For my friends that are SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators, were counting on you to deliver again with the reports, pictures, videos etc. per the SKYWARN reporting criteria and gives the ground truth of what’s really happening with Henri in our region.

Stay safe, get prepared and hope to talk to many of you during Henri Ops. I’ll try and update again as we get closer to operations time.

From ARRL Web:

08/14/2021 – In a statement received by ARRL on August 14, 2021, Region 2 of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU-R2) has requested that radio amateurs in the Americas keep the following frequencies clear to support emergency communications in Haiti following an earthquake this morning: 3750 kHz, 7150 kHz and 14330 kHz. The statement came from IARU-R2 Emergency Coordinator (EMCOR) Carlos Alberto Santamaría González, CO2JC.

According to preliminary information from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on August 14, 2021 at 1229 UTC, about 12 kilometers northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 33 kilometers to the east-northeast of Les Cayes, Haiti; 18.352 degrees north and 73.4801 degrees west at a depth of 10 km.

Mr. Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR, President of the Radio Club of Haiti, reported significant structural damage.

International news reports fear high casualties.

The Newport County (RI) Radio Club writes on its Facebook page:

 

Volunteers from the Newport County Radio Club helped prepare the key roof-top system and interpret the test results.

 

From ema.arrl.org:

Cape Cod ARES will conduct a district exercise “Operation Big Blow” as an advanced level exercise. Given the significant push for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon, several ARES District Emergency Coordinators who are either out of area or dealing with significant professional/personal workload and the high level of SKYWARN Activations during the month of July, formal section participation from the exercise has been dropped but anyone wishing to participate from outside of the Cape Cod district is more than welcome to do so and can reach the Cape Cod ARES district via 2m simplex, HF and digital modes such as Winlink and NBEMS.  This is the exercise plan: Cape Cod ARES District “Operation Big Blow” Exercise.

In mid-November, we will plan another section wide exercise. This will allow for large events such as support for Northeast HamXposition and the Boston Marathon to complete as well as support for Amateur Radio hurricane nets for the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season which is expected to ramp up and become more active as we head into mid-August. Amateur Radio Operators in the Eastern Massachusetts section should think about and prepare for what they would do if a landfalling hurricane were to strike Southern New England. The last direct landfalling hurricane to affect Southern New England was Hurricane Bob in August 1991, 30 years ago. The last major hurricane strike (Cat-3 or higher) to affect the region was Hurricane Carol in 1954. Now is a great time to prepare for the “what if” of a landfalling hurricane by preparing your station and augmenting its capabilities participating in SKYWARN Net Activations for localized severe weather events and participating in public service events where available. If a hurricane landfall does not occur this season, you will be more prepared for a major incident, weather related or otherwise, that could require Amateur Radio and ARES support.

Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Connecticut Section Emergency Coordinator Mike Waters, W8ZY, writes on the CT-ARES list:

Well, if you have been keeping up with the announcements coming from ARRL you might have seen my name in one of them. As of June 7, [2021]  I have joined the HQ staff and am now the Field Services Manager. Unfortunately there is room in my life for only one position like this so I have submitted my resignation as SEC to our section manager. I will still be around and am assisting in the selection of my replacement. I will still be a CT ARES member and will participate where I can in drills and deployments.

This has been a very enjoyable and often very fulfilling position for me and I want to thank all of the ARES volunteers who give their time and resources for the job. Without all of you there would be no ARES.

Thank you for your support and dedication.

Thanks

Mike, W8ZY

From South Coast MA Amateur Radio Group Facebook page:

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the tornadoes that struck Western and Central portions of Massachusetts. In this video we hear and see the important role that Amateur Radio Operators played relaying “ground truth” information to the National Weather Service Office in Taunton. A compilation video of the June 1, 2011 EF3-Tornado with photos from Amateur Radio Operators, SKYWARN Spotters, NWS Storm Survey and an aerial survey from Amateur Radio Operators.