01/27/2016
Amateur Radio operators put their skills to work during flooding in the
Centralia area of Southwest Washington and historic flooding in the Greater St
Louis area in December and January. In Missouri ARES? volunteers from three
counties pitched in. According to Bill Grimsbo, N0PNP, District C Emergency
Coordinator, Amateur Radio volunteers contributed more than 170 hours of
service just in his district, working with responding agencies.
"These people commit their personal time as well as working regular hours at
jobs that represent a cross section of America's workforce for the greater good
of the community," he pointed out.
Prolonged rainfall occurred December 26-28, with the heaviest rainfall in a 50
to 75 mile wide swath from Southwest Missouri through the St Louis Metropolitan
area and into Central Illinois. The total 6 to 12 inches of rainfall led to
life-threatening flash flooding and historic river flooding, capping off the
wettest year on record for St Louis at 61.24 inches.
More than 26 radio amateurs from St Louis Metro ARES, St Charles County ARES,
Illinois Section ARES, and St Louis and suburban radio club members worked with
the American Red Cross in serving some 19,400 meals and coordinating more than
640 overnight stays for those displaced by flooding. ARES and club operators
were asked to help coordinate communications among shelters in four counties
and Red Cross headquarters. On average, volunteers worked 6 to 8 hour shifts,
employing repeaters maintained by area radio clubs.
"The Amateur Radio operators in the greater St Louis area have knowledge and
equipment to connect any agency to another when in times of need," St Louis
Metro ARES Emergency Coordinator Steve Wooten, KC0QMU, said. "We can set up and
be connected within an hour of responding to the call for assistance."
St Charles County Division of Emergency Management also called on ARES to
execute road closure reconnaissance for emergency services. Volunteers also
performed "windshield" damage assessments, where they drove by hundreds of
homes to survey them for any damage.
St Francois and Ste Genevieve County ARES worked together to assist Ste
Genevieve County emergency managers with 24 hour walks to assess the condition
of the critical levees that protect lives and property in that county.
More than 20 people died in the historic flooding. Hundreds were displaced from
their homes as rivers, streams and lakes overflowed banks and levees.
Wastewater treatment facilities were overwhelmed, and some drinking water
treatment facilities were shut down. President Barack Obama issued a Federal
Disaster Declaration and the Federal Highway Administration pledged $1 million
for emergency highway repairs.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Centralia area of Southwest Washington again
found itself on Mother Nature's target list for December rain and local
flooding, and Amateur Radio volunteers were called in to help. The region saw
nearly continuous rain during the first week in December, with especially heavy
rainfall on December 7. As a result, three major rivers - the Chehalis, the
Skookumchuck and the Newaukum - quickly reached flood stage. The City of
Centralia opened its emergency operations center (EOC) on December 9, to get
ahead of the potentially devastating flood waters, and the Centralia ARES team
activated on a 24-hour basis on December 8. Working after dark, team members
monitored EOC Amateur Radio systems and helped set up the remainder of the EOC
for a full-scale response by the next morning.
On December 9, two local creeks - China and Salzer - overflowed their banks and
inundated Centralia's downtown district, before the major rivers had reached
flood stage. Following the Incident Action Plan issued on December 9, ARES team
members began a second response phase, performing "windshield surveys" to
determine the extent and depth of water in each residential area in the city.
Team members also monitored selected high-water points to provide
"eyes-on-the-scene" observations on how rapidly flood waters were rising.
Throughout the day, hams reported conditions block by block, response area by
response area to the EOC and incident commanders.
The area caught a break later that day, when the rains abated and stopped. By
late on December 8, even though rivers were still reaching flood stage,
emergency managers could breathe a sigh of relief, as it became clear that the
local flooding was not going to be on the order of an earlier disaster that
closed Interstate 5 for several days. Several dangerous landslides did occur,
though, and Highway 12 over White Pass to Eastern Washington was closed due to
washouts and could remain closed for some time, as snow on the pass hinders
roadway repairs.
The ARES team deployed 75 members, who put in slightly more than 70 volunteer
hours. Centralia ARES has worked through four major floods since 2007, with
localized flooding almost every November or December. - Thanks to Janelle
Haible, N0MTI, St Louis (Missouri) Metro ARES Public Information Officer, and
to Bob Willey, KD7OWN, Emergency Coordinator, Centralia Amateur Radio Emergency
Service
---
■ Synchronet ■ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS
|
