Hurricane Helene and Amateur Radio

Just finished listening to a 3 hour interview podcast with K4SWL, Thomas Witherspoon by the Amateur Radio Workbench group posing questions and getting into the nitty-gritty of the disaster. The podcast is fabulous narrative of the disaster and how the community came together to help each other with trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. Obviously amateur radio became immediately useful in the first days of the disaster, not only getting health and welfare information out to the world outside the disaster zone but also coordinating where resources were needed as all cell phones and power was out completely. One amateur radio repeater survived and was pressed into emergency management immediately. All the hams fell right into net control mode. Other useful information was handled locally by handy talkies that Thomas handed out to his neighbors and organized a twice a day on the air meeting using simplex to meet and check on everyone. There are many more details that are in the podcast and the article he wrote for the QRPer Magazine, check it out here:

Helene Aftermath Update: Adopting an Off-Grid Community Radio Network (Thursday, October 24, 2024)

There are many “pearls of wisdom” that came out of this experience that the rest of us and emergency management could learn. Some of his experience was dictated by luck however being prepared limits the bad luck you might have. He lives in a very isolated area and power outs are not uncommon. He got an opportunity to put in a Tesla Power Wall 2 at a discount instead of a generator. He put solar panels on the roof to replenish the power wall. The beauty of this was that he was the only one that had limited power all the time. He did suffer some tree damage to a few of the solar panels but had enough to run most of the house paying close attention to conservation. Only use what had to be used. The problem with generators is that at some point you will run out of fuel and if the roads are impassable then you are out for a long time. In Thomas’s case, there were a lot of trees down all over the roads, some of the roads and bridges were washed out and egress was a problem. He also had recently ordered satellite internet from Starlink and has been able to send messages and post online blog of his experience. He set up a local radio net that could identify needs and do wellness checks. His article on QRPer is a must read.

It is also very revealing that the bad reports on the news of government entities not providing help or taking over peoples houses and property were totally false. FEMA, Samaritan’s Purse and World Central Kitchen were everywhere helping, clearing roads, providing food and shelter as soon as they could get there. The workbench crew ask that you donate what you can to these organizations as they are really there helping.

Please check out the links and articles and come back here and leave your comments and impressions. We need to take heed of the lessons learned there and start to get ready for the next one!

73 Peter, N4PVH

Satellite photo courtesy of NASA:
https://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/news/287/nasas-airs-instrument-captures-hurricane-helene/

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