It’s truly amazing what Hurricanes Irma and Maria did to Puerto Rico. At one point, the Caribbean island’s entire power grid was offline.The before and after pictures were striking, as are the pictures in this CNN report:
Hurricane Maria pretty much took out the telecommunications infrastructure as well……except for amateur radio. Amateurs on the island were able to establish some communications, and in some cases, were even helping Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority dispatch crews trying to restore power.
In addition to those efforts, the American Red Cross asked the ARRL if they could help with health and welfare traffic. Within 24 hours, 50 operators had volunteered, and they were soon on their way to Puerto Rico, where they will assist the Red Cross’s “Safe and Well” program for up to three weeks.
There have been many reports of amateur radio operators doing yeoman’s work in aiding Puerto Rico. Here are four of them:
- Ham radio operators saving Puerto Rico one transmission at a time. The phone call from the Red Cross came in late Friday night, just as the full scale of Hurricane Maria’s calamity began taking shape.“We need 50 of your best radio operators to go down to Puerto Rico.”In the days after the worst storm in three generations hit the American island — and for many more to come — public electrical, land-line and cellular communication systems showed few signs of life. And radio networks used routinely by police officers, power company workers and other first responder still were down.Yet, a key mode of communication — one not reliant on infrastructure vulnerable to strong winds and flooding — still crackled: the “ham” radio.
- Amateur radio operators connect Puerto Rico to outside world (video).
- Amateur radio operators are playing key role in Puerto Rico.When things went dark and quiet in Puerto Rico, a cadre of amateur radio operators became a lifeline on the island. About two dozen amateur radio operators on the island helped police and first responders communicate when their radio networks failed completely. Some of the radio operators, or hams traveled on trucks to provide communications to the power company, PREPA.
- Connect disaster survivors with radio waves.Not long after the discovery of radio waves, there were amateur or ham radio operators. Today there are millions worldwide, with more than 700,000 licensed ham radio operators here in the U.S. alone. Even the International Space Station has one. Since these amateurs operate over radio waves, they can aid people with little to no power by relaying messages and connecting with other operators thousands of miles away. So, when the National Association for Amateur Radio put out the call for volunteers to head down to Puerto Rico, the response was swift. More than 400 people offered to go, with 50 chosen for the task.
How You Can Help (from the ARRL)
In a letter to all ARRL members, ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, asked for contributions to ARRL’s Ham Aid fund. “Equipment has been flying out the door since Hurricane Harvey struck the US mainland,” he emphasized. “From meeting requirements in aid of Hurricane Irma victims in the US Virgin Island and Florida, our store of Ham Aid kits has been depleted.”
ARRL’s Ham Aid program loans Amateur Radio equipment kits to established Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) groups and partner agencies during disaster responses, in order to establish Amateur Radio communication support. Ham Aid is supported by donations from individuals and corporations, including many of our ham radio industry partners.
ARRL has previously staged Ham Aid equipment in Texas, and in the last few weeks, ARRL has supplied kits to Florida, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. With our Ham Aid inventory depleted, your donation is needed now. Contributions to Ham Aid are 100% tax deductible.
To make a donation online, go to the ARRL donation form and select “Ham Aid.” To donate by mail, print a donation form, and mail it with your check payable to ARRL, noting “Ham Aid” on the memo line of your check. Mail to ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA.
UPDATE 10/2/17:
According to the ARRL, more than 20 of the “Force of 50” Amateur Radio volunteers now are deployed in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico as American Red Cross volunteers and wasting no time getting down to business. These hams are really making a difference.
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