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 Previous: The Amateur Amateur: The HF Chronicles--EC-001 and Contacting NTS | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "How "The Big Project" Came To Michigan"){kind=small} Next: How "The Big Project" Came To Michigan |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 10, 2002--Reports via Amateur Radio have provided a picture of the devastating aftermath of so-called "Supertyphoon Pongsona," which struck the Pacific Island territory of Guam December 8. A team of Amateur Radio operators affiliated with the US Department of Health and Human Services was set to depart this week for Guam. Pongsona is the third typhoon to hit Guam since June. The storm has essentially cut off communication between the island and the rest of the world.
"The entire island is without power, and residents have little or no water after Supertyphoon Pongsona pounded Guam," said ARRL Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider, AH6J, in Hawaii. Schneider reports he checked into the Pacific Inter-Island Net the evening Pongsona struck, but "no stations from anywhere in that area checked in," he said. The nearby island of Rota also was believed to have been severely affected.
Other amateur efforts to contact still-operational hams on Guam continue. Former Guam amateur Jim Kehler, KH2D, who now lives in Florida, reports, "There's no power on Guam, no water and no telephones. And no antennas. Hence, there's nobody on HF to have skeds with." In addition to wind damage, the island suffered "lots of flooding" in low-lying areas, Kehler said, citing outside reports.
Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, and Kimo Chun, KH7U, were attempting to raise Guam on 20 meters. "I was at the National Weather Service in Honolulu for SKYWARN Recognition Day just prior to the strike," Hashiro said, "and could see the inbound weather."
Pres George W. Bush has declared the US territory a federal disaster area, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel were planning to reach Guam via chartered aircraft to assist in the cleanup and recovery effort. The Salvation Army also has deployed personnel to assist with feeding those displaced by the storm, which packed winds of more than 180 MPH. Minimal damage was reported on Saipan and Tinian. Several schools on Guam have been pressed into service to shelter those whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
The eye of the storm passed over Guam, and the eye wall passed over Rota, said Saipan District Emergency Coordinator Tim Hayes, NH0H. "No contact has been made with either Guam or Rota at this time, and it is feared that damage is severe," Hayes said the day of the storm. "ARES was placed on standby for this weather event, but in the end was not called out."
Hayes reported he was able to copy a "weak AM radio broadcast from KUAM in Guam" that reported on devastation near Dededo, Guam. Initial predictions had determined the typhoon primarily would hit Saipan, but Guam and Rota ended up taking the brunt of the storm. Pongsona started out a few days earlier as a tropical depression and quickly ballooned into a major typhoon. Hayes said he would continue efforts to get in touch with amateurs on Guam.
Some amateurs affiliated with the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Emergency Response will head for Guam today, according to Steve "Sid" Caesar, NH7C, the team's communications officer.
"We have two disaster medical assistance teams that will also be going to Guam," Caesar said. "My team and I will complete a communications and information resources assessment after I arrive in Guam." Others on the crew include Satoshi Manabe, WH6CTO, and Jayson Kohama, WH6BXK.
Emil Pierson, WD0AFZ, a member of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network (SATERN) also relayed information from Guam media obtained via another Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) station.
As of December 9 (December 10 in the US), Ken Waters, N4PBY, of the National Weather Service, reported from Honolulu that communications were "slowly coming back on Guam." Waters said he'd heard nothing from Rota, however, which is some 40 miles north of Guam and 70 miles south of Saipan. "This is probably the worst typhoon in at least 35 years for Guam," Waters said, adding that the NWS was able to establish some e-mail connection to its NWS office on Guam.
Waters is an NWS Pacific Region regional scientist. During the early hours after the storm passed over Guam and Rota, Waters has issued a request on behalf of the NWS for anyone with communications with Guam to get in touch with him via e-mail.
SATERN reported that Salvation Army personnel on Guam were working with local authorities to coordinate the post-typhoon response. No deaths have been reported, but the storm flattened portions of the island. Damage included Salvation Army facilities on Guam.
Web-based Media reports in the Pacific Daily News have been providing an overview of the storm's damage and recovery efforts now under way.
| Previous: The Amateur Amateur: The HF Chronicles--EC-001 and Contacting NTS | Next: How "The Big Project" Came To Michigan |
