Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2058 for Friday, April 7, 2017
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2058, with a release date of Friday,
April 7, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams respond to natural disasters in Australia and
Colombia. The Radio Communication Museum opens in the UK -- and you're all
invited to activate a lighthouse in Atlantic Canada! All this and more, as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2058, comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART
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AUSTRALIA'S TROPICAL CYCLONE DRAWS AMATEUR RESPONSE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story is a special report from Australia, where
Queensland is still repairing massive damage and counting losses from
Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which hammered North and Central Queensland on Tuesday,
March 28th. Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB, gives
us the details, which have been provided to us by Gavin, VK4ZZ, in
Townsville, one of the affected areas.
GRAHAM: Amateur radio responded, despite challenges of its own, as
Tropical Cyclone Debbie battered the tourist and agricultural centers
in North and Central Queensland. The storm knocked out the power infrastructure,
halting mining operations, destroying buildings, bridges, roadways, and crops;
and wiping out essential amenities in the resort
regions.
Hams along the cyclone track, experienced in storm response, made
preparations -- most especially in the regions of Bowen, Mackay, Central
Highlands and Townsville, according to Gavin, VK4ZZ, who lives in
Townsville. They checked radio gear, dismantled fragile antenna systems,
and ensured they had enough fuel to run emergency power generators. Gavin
told Newsline that by Sunday the 26th of March, hams with HF antennas
still aloft boosted call-in numbers on the local nets. He said members of
the Townsville Amateur Radio Club who were out providing communications
support for an autosports Hillclimb during the day, still kept an eye out
on the predicted storm track updates.
On Monday the 27th of March, counter-disaster authorities, which included
some embedded hams, tweaked their pre-deployment plans according to Gavin.
Bowen, one of the affected towns, was able to provide VHF repeater coverage
throughout the Cyclone -- and indeed was on the air despite lack of power
in the town -- thanks to the Bowen Radio Amateur Group, and in particular
Geoff/VK4JDW, who was powering the repeater off the emergency generator at
his house, where the repeater is situated. The antenna system survived
winds of as much as 125 miles per hour. Further inland, the Central
Highlands Linked Repeater System remained functional, but its northern
coastal node, the Midge Point Repeater, was disabled by structural and
power system damage.
Gavin said many hams became part of the recovery efforts, embedded with
the Queensland State Emergency Service and other responders. As the
cyclone swept out, hams put their HF antennas back up, and have joined
the nets with stories of either dodging the bullet, or being on the
recovery trail. He said all eyes are now on the city of Rockhampton,
where there were some evacuations, as the city deals with post-cyclone
flooding from the Fitzroy River.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
(GAVIN CHARLES REIBELT VK4ZZ)
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COLOMBIAN HAMS AFTER FLOODS, LANDSLIDE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams were also on the scene in a Colombian mountain town threatened
by flooding and subsequent landslides. We hear more from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
JIM MEACHEN: An amateur radio emergency response network was activated on
40 meters in Colombia to assist with recovery efforts there following
flooding, and a massive landslide outside the mountain town of Mocoa
(Muck-KO-a), near the border with Ecuador. With more than 200 dead, and
many others missing or injured - and all electricity cut off - the
amateurs have been deployed to assist local fire departments and other emergency
responders, according to Roberto Rey, HK3CW.
A state of emergency was declared after the Mocoa River and two
tributaries overflowed their banks into the town, where it devastated residents'
homes. The flood is considered one of the worst natural
disasters in Colombia in the last two decades.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
(IARU REGION 2, ASSOCIATED PRESS, ARRL, NPR)
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* Origin: Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com (57:57/1)
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