Big Island ARRL News, 17 January 2017, 16:15 hrs, UTC, Post # 97.
Source:
Accessed on 17 January 2017, 16:15 hrs, UTC.
Reporter: Southgate Amateur Radio Club (UK).
Please click link to read the full story.
Comment:
Amateur Radio operators in the United States who are active in emergency communications belong to a variety of volunteer support services such as ARES, RACES, MARS, and SATERN. In the United Kingdom, radio amateurs who volunteer to support local emergency agencies belong to RAYNET, which does many of the same tasks as ARES volunteers. In this article from the Southgate Amateur Radio Club, we learn how radio amateurs belonging to Essex Ham and RAYNET helped provide communications for an evacuation of Jaywick on 12 January 2017.
Essex Ham members worked with UK’s Environment Agency to set up and staff a series of cross-band repeaters to facilitate communications between evacuation shelters and command centers. The effort was supported by 16 Essex Ham members who provided the needed communications backup for first responders and other emergency personnel.
The Southgate Amateur Radio Club sums up the effort here:
“The team expended a total of 332 man hours over the two days. Mobile phone coverage in parts of the affected area was not great, and had the worst happened, it would likely have been necessary for a significant amount of message handling to be done by the RAYNET team. Numerous important messages were passed by RAYNET during the operation, and operators were able to keep council official and volunteers aware of events taking place at other key locations without tying up landline and mobiles.
Incidents like this serve to highlight the need for volunteers to be available to assist communities in times of need. If you have an amateur radio licence, volunteering for RAYNET is a great way to put your skills to good use. Although emergencies requiring RAYNET are fortunately few in the country, RAYNET supports many community events and charity fundraisers throughout the year, which not only provide a valuable service to the community, but help RAYNET members hone their message handling skills and test the network’s infrastructure.
For more about Essex RAYNET, go to www.essexraynet.org.uk…”
This is an excellent example of how radio amateurs serve their communities in times of disaster or emergency.
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Aloha es 73 de
Russell Roberts (KH6JRM)
Public Information Coordinator
Hawaii Island, ARRL Pacific Section
