A couple of items courtesy of one of our Official Bulletin Stations, WA4MJF:
Any hams who can help provide communications for the Salvation Army in Northeastern NC should contact Eastern Branch ASEC Ron Knapp, W9EF. E-mail is w9ef at arrl dot net.
An ARES/RACES deactivation has been declared by John Guerriero of the support of the NC State EOC at 4:13 PM today. This is due to the closing of NC4EB. Thank you for your support of the NC State EOC.
HF operations for Hurricane Isabel in North Carolina have pretty much concluded. Most communications is now very localized and is taking place on VHF repeaters in the Northeastern counties. Some requests for help may continue to be issued during the regular sessions of the Tarheel Emergency Net.
WA4MOK reported Monday morning that we are in need of two operators for Tyrrell county for Tuesday. If you are available please call KE4NQP at (252) 753-5510 (leave message if no answer).
Below is a report from NC4EB at the Eastern Branch Office.
At 1500 local time Sept 21, NC4EB closed formal operations from the Eastern Branch office. Most remaining radio traffic is being conducted between EOC'S and shelters and/or distribution facilities.
There remains an urgent need for operators in the Washington, Tyrell, and Northeastern Counties.
We would like to thank all of those who have unselfishly given of themselves, their equipment and other resources during the storm and in the ongoing relief effort. Tom Collins, acting Emergency Manager for Eastern Branch, said "we thank the hams for all of their efforts - we could not have done it without ham radio".
We would like to also extend thanks to the families for providing the time and support which made it possible for the volunteers to give their time.
We will continue to monitor the linked-repeater system from home and will continue to assist whenever possible.
Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK, SEC and
Mike Langley, KD4MTT for Eastern Branch
High tide today and Sunday will indicate how much flooding problems we ultimately have. This may change the situation drastically if major flooding problems develop. Hopefully, they won't.
Relief operators will be needed soon in many areas as first responders will need some rest and refueling.
If you'd like to help, the best thing to do is to contact the Eastern Branch office and ask where you can be deployed. Don't drive to the affected area without contacting them first - the needs change quite frequently and we don't want you showing up somewhere that you are not needed.
Contact the Eastern Branch (NC4EB) at 252-523-1351. When the line answers enter 319. You can also try the Tarheel Emergency Net (3923 kHz). E-mail nc4eb at hotmail dot com.
Pasquotank County's Fire Tower collapsed during the storm. They need radio operators to deploy at fire stations and so forth until regular communications can be restored. Perquimans County also needs operators. Contact NC4EB as outlined above.
President Bush declared 26 counties in North Carolina and counties in several other states to be a disaster area yesterday.
About 400,000 customers are without electrical power in North Carolina. Almost all of Elizabeth City is without power. The Outer Banks were hard hit, with much damage and debris present in Hatteras and Ocracoke.
State Emergency Management has activated the NENA Telecommunicator Emergency Response Team (TERT) and they are deploying to Pasquotank/Camden County now.
Governor Mike Easley annouced Friday morning that there are 75 shelters serving about 8,000 people in operation in North Carolina. At last report there were 4 shelters with 768 people in Craven County alone. Craven and Carteret Counties were hit harder than expected. Flooding has taken place and is still a concern in these areas as runoff approaches rivers and sounds.
The Tarheel Emergency Net continues operating in "stand-by" mode on 3923 kHz. Standby means we do not take check-ins as usual, but stand by to facilitate message flow between stations handling disaster traffic.
Isabel has now made landfall between Ocracoke and Morehead City. Fortunately it seems to be moving at around 18 MPH, so with any luck it will not sit in one place for too long and cause a lot of flooding. We may not know the full flooding potential for several days when runoff reaches the rivers.
Thousands of people have evacuated their homes. More than 638,000 customers have lost electrical power in NC and VA.
Governor Mike Easley has declared a state of emergency in North Carolina due to the storm.
The Tarheel Emergency Net is now active on 3923 kHz except for a few hours around mid-day when it is on 7232 kHz. The net will often sound quiet, but is designed to facilitate communications between the State EOC, Eastern Branch Office, and county EOCs. Other traffic will be handled as time permits, but disaster traffic has higher priority.
An ARES/RACES Level 3 Minimal Deployment Activation has been established by John Guerriero, KG4HDT to support the NC State EOC at 1045 EDT September 18th.
Craven County (New Bern) will probably receive a large amount of storm surge coming up the Neuse river. They have already reported some flooding, and some folks have moved to shelters.
Lots of counties have activated EOCs. Washington County EOC was activated on Tuesday. Moore County has activated its EOC, Red Cross Headquarters and three shelters.
Radio operators are needed to staff shelters and EOCs in Craven, Wake and Johnston counties, and undoubtedly others. If you are able to help, the best thing to do is to tell your county EC what you can do and where you are willing to go.
Hurricane Isabel appears to be heading towards a landfall somewhere between North Carolina and Virginia. If the storm strikes North Carolina, the best current guess is that it will take place sometime on Thursday September 18th. Right now the entire state is potentially at risk, with the eastern part of the state closest to the center of the potential track area.
Although expected to weaken over the next few days, this storm could still cause considerable wind destruction near the storm center and flooding over a wider area. With much of our ground saturated from the heavy rain we have had this year, North Carolinians should be prepared for the possibility of flooding even if the storm moves well to the east of us.
I encourage each of you to make personal preparations for the storm. In addition, I hope you will be able to contribute to amateur radio disaster communications if necessary.
Disasters such as hurricanes give us a few days warning to prepare. Make sure your personal preparations for the storm are in order TODAY. You will be unable to help with disaster communications if you must deal with personal, family or property issues in the aftermath of the storm. Advance preparation can sometimes minimize the impact of the storm on your life, but even then you can't be sure. We understand this.
Having a family emergency plan means making sure you have adequate access to food, drinking water and medicine; and have a plan for meeting or contacting loved ones in the event you have to evacuate. Make sure your vehicles have plenty of fuel. Fuel will be unavailable after the storm if electricity is lost.
If in doubt, evacuate; I'd rather you be alive to help out during the next storm even if it means leaving during this one. Very few people die from hurricane winds; flooding causes most storm-related deaths. Joel Kline of the National Weather Service once said "if you can see the water, you're too close!"
More information about a family emergency preparedness plan can be found at the following web site, courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security: http://www.ready.gov
Make sure all equipment is in working order, all batteries are charged, generators are working and so forth. Do this TODAY, not during the storm, so you can remedy any problems before then. Make sure you have printed copies of radiograms, operating aids and so forth - do NOT count on being able to access this information on a computer after the storm.
If you are willing to operate a radio at a shelter or served agency, let your County EC know. Make sure you have a "ready kit" to take your supplies with you. Besides radio supplies, you may need to include food, water, clothing and medicine if it is a long-term deployment. Take medicine anyway in case you get stranded unexpectedly.
If the hurricane requires a statewide activation, Tar Heel Emergency Net operations will take place on 3923 kHz more or less continuously until the worst is over. If this happens, listen carefully, and follow the net control's instructions. Other nets will continue to run in most cases.
You may find it helpful to listen to the Hurricane Watch Net, which if activated will take place on 14.325 MHz USB. More information about this net can be found on the web at: http://www.hwn.org
If the Internet becomes unavailable to you, W1AW voice bulletins are broadcast daily at 9:45 PM on 1.855, 3.99, 7.29, 14.29, 18.16, 21.39, and 28.59 MHz. Official Bulletin Stations in your area may have information on your local nets also.
Our official NC Section HF net frequencies are as follows:
3573 kHz -- Carolinas Net (CW) -- 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm
3695 kHz -- Carolinas Slow Net (CW) -- 8:00 pm
3923 kHz -- North Carolina Evening Net (LSB) -- 6:30 pm
3923 kHz -- Tar Heel Emergency Net (LSB) -- 7:30 pm plus whenever
activated
3927 kHz -- North Carolina Morning Net (LSB) -- 7:45 am
7232 kHz -- Tar Heel Emergency Net (LSB) -- whenever activated
In addition to our official ARRL nets, an independent net, the Coastal Carolina Emergency Net (3907 kHz LSB) -- 7:00 pm is willing to handle Health and Welfare traffic. Be aware that most inbound Health and Welfare traffic is very difficult to deliver.
Those of you outside the disaster area will be very valuable to us. We will need net control stations with reliable electricity and telephone service. We will need others to relay messages and perform other tasks also.
If the FCC issues a Declaration of Communications Emergency, please observe it whether it is voluntary or mandatory.
Remember that other states will almost certainly need to activate their nets. If someone asks you to change frequency because they are handling disaster communications, take their word for it and honor their request!
With any luck, the storm will miss us and we won't have to worry about it. That does NOT look likely today. Make sure you are prepared; it's better to be prepared and not need it than to be unprepared and have to deal with the stress of the disaster.
73,
John Covington, W4CC
ARRL NC Section Manager