Hundreds more are aiding right from their home by relaying messages to families around the country. The Amateur Radio operators, often called "hams," are working in shelters, offices of emergency preparedness and many temporary locations being used in the disaster response.
Because of their communications work, hundreds of lives have been saved already. Hundreds more ham volunteers are in neighboring states and ready to come in once emergency organizations are able to enter the affected areas.
In addition to providing emergency communications for various agencies, hams are aiding in informing the thousands of anxious families about people trapped in the area. Hams have coordinated nation-wide to allow many victims to tell distant families about their status.
Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, in Connecticut says:
I had just finished a routine call when a KD5 station called me asking if I could assist him. He had survived the hurricane at a location near New Orleans and he wanted to get word to his daughters and wife that he was OK. I made short phone calls to MN, FL, and LA to relay his message. Less than an hour later I received a call from his daughter thanking me profusely for getting word to her that her father was OK. She was impressed with ham radio!
According to Allen Pitts of the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, "We are also working with many agencies to get information out from the area. While no one yet has a system to find individuals still trapped, hams around the country have formed huge radio networks to provide relief."
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service activities of the ARRL are made possible because the hams do not depend on cell towers, phone switching centers, internet or other "choke points" which can be destroyed in a disaster. Although the hams are very organized, each station can function fully independently in sending and receiving messages.
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