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 Previous: ARRL Staff Member John C. Hennessee, N1KB, SK |  Next: FCC Directs Manassas BPL System to Act Following Ham's Interference Complaint |
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 9, 2006--Addressing the FCC independent panel reviewing Hurricane Katrina's impact on communication networks, ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, praised Amateur Radio's ability to get the job done. Speaking March 7 at Jackson State University in Mississippi, Sarratt said Amateur Radio volunteers were tremendously effective in their ability to re-establish communication links using their own gear or by building systems from scratch.
"Amateur Radio operators themselves were part of the solution, providing experienced communications operators to replace and supplement local public service communications personnel in the devastated area," Sarratt said. "These systems of equipment and operators were very effective, not only for amateur purposes but in support of emergency management, Red Cross, Southern Baptist, Salvation Army and many other organizations."
 ARRL Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK (second from left), testifies before the FCC Katrina response panel meeting March 7 in Jackson, Mississippi. |
 At the FCC Katrina Panel session in Jackson, Mississippi: (L-R) Mississippi State Government Liaison Ron Brown, AB5WF; Sarratt, FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate, and ARRL Delta Division Director Henry Leggette, WD4Q. |
 Following Hurricane Katrina, Sarratt (center) helps two Connecticut volunteers being deployed to the Gulf Coast from the Montgomery, Alabama, Red Cross staging area: Dave Hyatt, K1DAV (right), of Torrington, and Dave Wilcox, K1DJW, of New Hartford. |
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin and Commissioner Deborah T. Tate attended the opening session of the 25-member panel March 6. For 37 days following Hurricane Katrina, Sarratt--working at an American Red Cross disaster relief staging area in Montgomery, Alabama--headed the volunteer effort to process Amateur Radio volunteers headed to the Gulf Coast to assist recovery operations. Sarratt told the FCC panel that his operation ultimately was able to process and deploy more than 200 Amateur Radio volunteers from 35 states and Canada to devastated communities in Mississippi. Volunteers set up communication facilities at kitchens, shelters, emergency operations centers, distribution centers, warehouses and various command and control centers, he said.
"In each town we set up a high frequency (HF) Amateur Radio station to communicate out of the area to Montgomery and the outside world," Sarratt explained. "We also set up a communications network connecting every Red Cross facility in a town on a local short-range radio frequency. Our network included fixed and mobile disaster vehicle stations."
Sarratt told the FCC panel that interoperability is the most important thing Amateur Radio can bring to the table in emergency and disaster communications. "Amateurs demonstrated their adaptability by communicating successfully with a multitude of amateur, commercial, public service, EMA, Salvation Army and Red Cross radio systems and personnel," he said.
A Wealth of Resources
Sarratt said the hundreds of Amateur Radio volunteers in the field following Hurricane Katrina "made up the largest Amateur Radio Emergency Service army in history to provide critical emergency communications support." Many Amateur Radio volunteers worked from home to support field operations, he noted.
"We deployed several hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment and resources to the area," Sarratt told the FCC panel. "Individual amateurs and dozens of Amateur Radio manufacturers donated thousands of dollars of radio equipment and resources." Ham radio volunteers or clubs supplied self-contained communication vans and trailers that were effectively utilized in the disaster area, he added.
"Radio amateurs bring a wealth of resources to the public service and emergency communications table," Sarratt summed up.
Getting Ready for the Next "Big One"
"The ARRL and Amateur Radio will continue to prepare, train, practice and test ourselves for the next event," Sarratt told the FCC panel. "Public service is a large component of the charter of the Amateur Radio Service." He recommended installing permanent Amateur Radio stations in federal, state and local emergency operations centers as well as at selected public service, Red Cross chapters and other served agencies.
Sarratt offered several recommendations for the League to pursue:
Sarratt also put forth some recommendations for the FCC panel to consider. He suggested that the Commission and the ARRL:
"The disasters of 2005 have proven the worth of Amateur Radio Service and its selfless cadre of operators; we were tested as never before," Sarratt concluded, adding "we must assume the next 'big one' is just around the corner."
"It was my pleasure meeting and working with hundreds of Amateur Radio operators during this event," he said. "I am proud to have been a part of this relief effort."
ARRL provided a written report to the independent FCC review panel. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, recently named Sarratt to serve on the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee.
TV Station Manager Lauds Ham Radio's Role
Dave Vincent, the station manager of WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi, also spoke before the FCC panel and included words of praise for Amateur Radio.
"Communication was non-existent immediately following the storm. Cell phones and regular phone service did not work for the first couple of days," Vincent said. "WLOX was lucky to have a ham operator stationed at our studio. The Harrison County EOC office sent the person to work with us."
Vincent said that without the help of Amateur Radio, "it probably would have been a couple of days before we would have known whether the persons in our two bureaus had survived the storm." He also said ham radio enabled the station to contact EOCs in the three hardest-hit coastal counties and get information they were able to air.
"The ham operator was able to transmit vital information
between agencies located at the EOC centers and WLOX," Vincent recounted. "Without
this link we would not have had any way to communicate with officials along the
coast."
| Previous: ARRL Staff Member John C. Hennessee, N1KB, SK | Next: FCC Directs Manassas BPL System to Act Following Ham's Interference Complaint |
