Local Amateur Radio Operators assist red cross with disaster drill
On the morning of February 20 an F1 tornado touched down in North Clarksville leaving a path of devastation in it’s wake… Ok, not really, but this was the scenario for an American Red Cross disaster drill which was held on Saturday February 20. The drill parameters dictated that communications towers in the area had been destroyed making cell phones useless.
Clarksville hams stepped up to the plate to assist the Red Cross in this drill just like they would in the event of an actual disaster.
Amateur Radio operators from the Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed up and provided all of the communications for the excercise.
Net control functions were provided by CATS Vice President John Freed, KX6F
CORE members James Kennedy, WU5E; David Abney, KG4EUU; and Eric Gregory, KJ4GXU acted as drivers and communications specialists for the Disaster Assessment teams while CATS member Lee Daniel, KI4LEL acted as the communcations operator for the Disaster Assessment supervisor Karina Aponte, KJ4LCG.
Shelter communications were handled by CATS President Jim Shelton.
Together with the Red Cross these operators were able to coordinate shelter operations and communications with other local agencies all while a mock damage assessment was performed on several thousand homes in the space of a few hours.
This drill was a perfect example of how Amateur Radio operators can act in cooperation with local agencies and each other to provide services to the public in times of crisis. Both major Amateur Radio clubs in the area, The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed their willingness to give of their time, skills and equipment to support the Red Cross and our community.
It was through the contributions of these operators and all of the red cross volunteers which included nurses, shelter volunteers, administrative staff and more that this drill was able to successfully accomplish the tasks set forth.
Tags: Amateur, Amateur Radio, ARES, CATS, clarksville, communications, CORE, disaster, drill, ham, Radio, Red Cross, Transmitting
ARES, Amatuer Radio, Disaster Response, Emergency Communications, Red Cross | KJ4GXU | 
February 26, 2010 3:44 pm
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