Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers in the Maryland-DC Section activated in the wake of regional flash flooding on May 27. Hit especially hard was Ellicott City, where vehicles were reported to have been washed away by fast-moving flood waters upward of 10 feet deep. At least one person was reported to be missing.
“As many watched Alberto, radio amateurs in Maryland watched more and more rain locally,” said ARRL Assistant Maryland-DC Section Manager and Public Information Coordinator Ken Reid, KG4USN.
By 5 PM, heavy rain, as much as 8 to 10 inches, soaked portions of central and southern Maryland.” The flooding disaster was the second since 2016 in historic downtown Ellicott City, which was still recovering from the earlier event. High water also affected Arbutus, Dundalk, and Catonsville. Section leadership asked radio amateurs in the flood-affected areas to check on the health and welfare of their neighbors. Reid said high-water rescues were needed in Perry Hall and Patapsco State Park.
When the flooding quickly became serious in several locations, MDC Section Manager Marty Pittinger, KB3MXM, activated ARES in eight central Maryland counties at 6:30 PM EDT, and 15 minutes later, more than 40 ARES volunteers reported to their respective 2-meter nets in five counties. The majority of flood-affected communities were in Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, and Howard counties. Amateur Radio volunteers in the MDC Section provided additional situational awareness, and Pittinger interfaced with Atlantic Division leadership, Maryland Section Emergency Coordinator Jim Montgomery, WB3KAS, and state and local authorities.
“Many county [emergency operations centers] in affected areas were also activated. Anne Arundel County ARES and Howard County ARES were in communication with their local Emergency Management Agencies and were both told to stand by in case of need,” Reid said. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency.
“Regular situational awareness updates were shared throughout the nets to ensure communication readiness for served agencies, community leadership, neighbors, first responders, and fellow radio amateurs,” Reid said. Conventional telecommunications continued to function throughout the heavy weather, which caused road closures and power and natural gas outages.
The MDC ARES volunteers remained in duty until 10:15 PM on May 28. During the activation, radio amateurs made use of VHF, UHF, and HF capabilities, as well as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes.
Source:ARRL
Equipment
Elecraft AF-1 Audio Filter Kit
by Richard, N4PBQ “I’ve been working a lot of SKCC CW stations during the holidays and adjacent stations really interfere with my ability... Read more
DAV – FCA1000: 1250W Linear amplifier – 160 to 6 Meter
The power delivered is constant on all bands, including the new 60Meter Band, selectable in 4 steps by 250W, 500W, 1000W and 1250W. It has 3 antenna o... Read more
The ZN-HKR is new for 2015 by N3ZN
The ZN-HKR is new for 2015. It is an all brass straight key built on a 4″ diameter brass base. It features 4 ball bearing and silver con... Read more
How to build a Simplified Arduino CW Trainer by Tom N4TL
The winning article for the September 2016 QST Cover Plaque award is “Arduino CW Trainer” by Tom Lewis, N4TL. The QST Cover Plaque Award — given... Read more
New release of 144/430 MHz dual bander TH-D74 Kenwood
TH-D74 Kenwood Industry’s first*1 portable amateur radio, supporting on both APRS and D-STAR® JVCKENWOOD will release a new high-end 144/430 MHz... Read more
USB micro KEYER III – MicroHam
MicroHam micro KEYER III™ is the world first and the only amateur radio USB interface featuring high dynamic range, 24-bit audio processing cha... Read more
Review
App - Mobile
Free App Allows Blind Hams to Work PSK31
A free, new app — Accessible Digipan — has been released that allows blind hams to operate PSK31. The download includes the app, audio tutorials, deta... Read more
EchoLink for iOS version 2.6.14 is now available
EchoLink for iOS version 2.6.14 is now available in the App Store. This is a 64-bit build that is fully compatible with iOS 10 and modern iOS devices.... Read more
Pocket Radio Android App ( TX and RX )
This is an Android application used to remotely control several HAM radio – any CAT enabled transceiver over Bluetooth, USB/Serial or with secu... Read more
Ham Radio License Exam Preparation for Iphone and IPad
Get Your Ham Radio License You are only 35 questions away from getting your Ham radio license. The questions come from a pool of questions publ... Read more
RFinder – The World Wide Repeater Directory kicks BrandMeister up a notch. DMR without CodePlugs!
RFinder has worked with the DMR network Brandmeister to create new usability enhancements. The new dashboard just released includes coverage maps gene... Read more
OpenHPSDR Radio – Android App
Check this new app on Google Play Software Defined Radio. Supports the following hardware: HPSDR Atlas based systems using Metis. HPSDR Hermes... Read more
Digital Modes
FT8DMC 3rd Anniversary-Activity Days 2020
To commemorate our 3rd anniversary, special event stations will be on air during the FT8DMC Activity Days from 1. to 31. July 2020. All stations will... Read more
K1JT , JOE TAYLOR HINTS AT POSSIBLE NEW MODE!
In a post to the WSJT-X email group today, Joe Taylor K1JT hinted at some ongoing experimentation of a new digital mode with sub-modes. His post was a... Read more
WWSA GACW Contest Rules.
WWSA GACW I – Dates Second weekend of June of every year. From Saturday 15.00 UTC until Sunday 15.00 UTC. 24 hours period. II – Goal To co... Read more