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 Previous: Hams Help Get Wounded Boy from High Seas to Hospital |  Next: South Africa, Australia to Adopt 5 WPM Morse Test for Full HF Access |
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 29, 2000--Dozens of Amateur Radio volunteers are on duty in the Fort Worth, Texas, area in the wake of tornadoes last night that claimed at least a half-dozen lives and left downtown Fort Worth a shambles.
The twisters hit around suppertime. Eyewitness accounts said it looked like a bomb had exploded, shattering glass in high-rise buildings and leaving debris everywhere. With power out to thousands of customers in a wide area and telephone service--including cellular--interrupted, Amateur Radio has been able to fill its more traditional role of providing emergency and backup communication. Hams reportedly have been assisting local and emergency officials in tracking damage resulting from the severe weather as well as helping to coordinate shelters.
Dallas County RACES Officer Johnny Davis, K5JD, said amateurs were handling traffic on VHF and UHF repeaters as well as on simplex frequencies. "In Dallas County, we were lucky because the tornado went back up into the clouds before entering our county," he said. "However, it was a rather nerve-wracking time until we got the storms across the county line!"
SKYWARN nets in Tarrant and Dallas counties were activated in advance of the storms, and the National Weather Service already had warned of the possibility of tornadoes. Fort Worth RACES reported a tornado on the ground at 4th and 6th streets in downtown Fort Worth at 6:18 PM Central Time.
SATERN Southern Coordinator Jerry Jennison, N5OKQ, from San Angelo, reports that the Salvation Army had set up two temporary shelters, and the City of Fort Worth and the Red Cross have set up one shelter apiece to house those left homeless or without a place to go. Downtown Fort Worth has been closed off to the public, and some buildings there were said to have been heavily damaged. Hams have been helping to provide communication at shelter site.
ARRL North Texas Section Manager Don Mathis, KB5YAM, reports that Denton County ARES offered to assist Tarrant County RACES in responding to the storm's aftermath.
Denton County SKYWARN Coordinator George Lindley, WA5HKW, said Fort Worth RACES requested its assistance with communications after the twisters had blasted through the city. Ten operators took an emergency communications van to Fort Worth and assisted for several hours in the search for missing or unaccounted for people, using the van as a command post.
The tornadoes struck during the tail end of the afternoon rush hour. Emergency personnel were being called in all over to help. People staying in downtown hotels were sent out of town yesterday evening on buses. Some outlying areas were affected by high winds and heavy rain.
Davis said he expected that amateurs could be involved in the tornado for several more days. "In the pictures I saw there are wires everywhere, there's debris, it's just mass destruction in some areas," he said.
| Previous: Hams Help Get Wounded Boy from High Seas to Hospital | Next: South Africa, Australia to Adopt 5 WPM Morse Test for Full HF Access |
