“When All Else Fails…”

(See end for update!)

Excerpt from a larger story from ARRL News:

Long-Distance Ham Radio Rescue

A call for help that involved a combination of cell telephone calls and Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving 15 people stranded by floodwaters on the roof of a house in New Orleans. Unable to get through an overloaded 911 system, one of those stranded called a relative in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That individual, in turn, called another relative, Sybil Hayes in Broken Arrow , Oklahoma, whose 81-year-old aunt Helen Lelzx was among those clinging to the roof along with other family members.

Hayes called the American Red Cross chapter, which contacted the Tulsa Repeater Organization. Using the Red Cross chapter’s well-equipped amateur station, TRO member Ben Joplin, WB5VST, was able to relay a request for help on the 20-meter SATERN net via stations in Oregon and Idaho to Louisiana, where the ARES net contacted emergency personnel who rescued the 15 people.

“When all else fails, Amateur Radio works is more than a catchy tag line,” says TRO’s Mark Conklin, N7XYO. “It’s a lifeline.” He said as of late Monday evening, Lelxz and the others on the roof were safe at a Red Cross shelter.

(full story)

As I watched the news, I kept hearing about how the cell phones weren’t working, the power was out, phone lines were clogged… And I kept muttering about amateur radio. The vast majority of hams run their radios from batteries, even the larger radios. We are very portable and like it that way. We have established systems already in place both among ourselves (i.e. Skywarn, VOIPWXnet, Hurricane Watch Net, and regular traffic nets) and in place with Salvation Army, Red Cross and local/regional Emergency Management groups. Our methods of message sending/recieving is still working.

There, I feel better now.

UPDATE: For a feel of how the amateur radio operators are handling the situation and how the system(s) work, check out this online streaming feed of the Gulf Coast Emergency Net