Beyond Katrina

The Original Beyond Katrina Blog

Greetings. This is the original blog site for Beyond Katrina: The voice of Hurricane & Disaster Recovery. The site is in archive but  all the original posts beginning 8/28/2005 are still intact. The domain name when the site was active was www.hurricane-katrina.org.  I am currently covering the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina at Gulf Coast Rising, http://gulfcoastrising.com so do come over there as well.

Margaret Saizan

Adopt A Hurricane Impacted Family for Christmas

Hello, Margaret Saizan here.  I am the publisher of Beyond Katrina: The Voice of Hurricane & Disaster Recovery. Since 2005 I have sponsored  a Christmas wish fulfillment/Adopt a Family program to help match donors to hurricane survivors. The program has  become very popular and I am especially pleased that the donors love it so much!   Unfortunately, I wasn't able to host the program  last year  for personal reasons. However, much to my surprise (and delight) I received many emails from  donors who were really disappointed about this. The Adopt-a-Family program has been an enormously  rewarding experience for both givers and receivers alike.    

Inasmuch as the gulf coast is still not fully recovered from the storms of 2005 and its citizens are now dealing with the aftermath of two additional hurricanes - Gustav and Ike - I am considering reinstating the program this year. Please let me know if you are interested in participating either by adopting a family, being a co-sponsor,  or otherwise.  At this point I am seeding ideas and  I welcome dialogue and input from readers and stakeholders in gulf coast hurricane recovery.

In times past the program has been wildly successful as an organic, self creating initiative and this seems to be congruent with the viral way in which  new media/social media moves. However, this year I am getting a little bit earlier start than usual and plan to be more intentional in my promotional efforts. Inasmuch as the deeper motivation for most who participate lies in  the satisfaction of a job well done, I would like to create a way to cross promote the businesses and initiatives of participating donors and sponsors.  In this way the benefits to all are multiple.

Please email inquiries, ideas, pledges to donate or sponsor, etc. to Margaret Saizan at  beyondkatrina@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers,

Margaret Saizan
Beyond Katrina: The Voice of Hurricane & Disaster Recovery
www.hurricane-katrina.org

Governor Jindal Update on State Response Efforts for Hurricane Ike

BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal gave an update on state response efforts surrounding the impact of Hurricane Ike in Southwest Louisiana.

Governor Jindal said that the state is continuing its focus on saving lives and helping to rescue people who need to be helped to safety. In total, state agencies worked to rescue an estimated 411 people today, in addition to the 179 rescues reported by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries yesterday. The Governor visited Southwest Louisiana parishes throughout the day, and saw firsthand search and rescue resources working to transport people from flooded areas to higher ground. Governor Jindal surveyed the storm's impact on Delcambre, Erath, Abbeville, Pecan Island, and Lake Charles today, seeing many homes and businesses flooded throughout the southwest area.

Governor Jindal said, "Our people are working together to save lives and help each other to safety. Today, our Wildlife and Fisheries rescue teams rescued 118 people and National Guard teams rescued 293 people. I saw firsthand several homes that were flooded in Calcasieu and Vermillion Parishes, and we are working with parish leaders to begin recovery operations to get the people in these parishes, and all those affected by this storm all along our coastline, back on their feet as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, I will be meeting with local leaders in Terrebonne, Lafourche, and lower Jefferson parishes, in order to get a firsthand assessment of the damage and the recovery needs in those areas."

 NATIONAL GUARD OPERATIONS

((PLEASE NOTE – some of these details were from preliminary reports on the ground before the Governor's briefing at 7PM.))

Louisiana National Guard's high water vehicles responded to calls as early 2AM today for rescues throughout the storm-effected parishes.  In St. Mary Parish, 116 people were rescued from the Franklin Nursing Home, 99 people were evacuated by high water vehicles and parish buses, and 16 were evacuated by ambulance.

As soon as weather permitted, six Blackhawk helicopters began sweeping the coastal parishes moving west along the backside of Hurricane Ike, but reported no individuals on rooftops in need of assistance. National Guard Boat teams commenced operations with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes at daybreak.

 Total National Guard rescues to date: 293

National Guard Resources Involved in Search and Rescue:

       High Water Vehicles: 255                                             High Water Vehicle Rescues: 275

      Helicopters:  20                                                            Helicopter Rescues:      6

      Boats: 41                                                                      Boat Rescues:   12

In addition to Search and Rescue missions, National Guard personnel continue to provide security support to eleven Food Stamp Distribution Sites.

Currently, Commodity Distribution sites are up and running in Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parish, and additional points will be added as needed. As of today, we have cleared over four thousand miles of roads and seventeen thousand cubic yards of debris from hurricane Gustav.

Acadia Parish

The National Guard has 152 guardsmen, 82 high water vehicles, 8 boats, and a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) located in parish.

Assumption Parish

The National Guard has 275 guardsmen in the parish and the 239^th Military Police Battalion performing security operations.

Calcasieu Parish

The National Guard has 538 guardsmen and 117 high water rescue vehicles, and two boats in the parish. The Guard established a search and rescue lillypad at Chennault Airfield, and Guard helicopters flew to Carlyss to confirm reports of people in need of evacuation. Upon arrival, the flight crew discovered around 100 people being assisted by local firemen and six of them were determined to be special needs individuals who were immediately air evacuated to Chennault Airport.

Using Boats and high water vehicles, LANG personnel rescued 40 people from neighborhoods throughout Lake Charles, 12 people from the Laberge Casino parking lot, three adults, a two-year-old child and 2 dogs were rescued by a civilian boat and then transferred to a National Guard High Water Vehicle to the evacuation to lillypad. 17 people were rescued from St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles, and National Guard boat teams continue to conduct deliberate searches of flooded areas. The National Guard also moved 18 generators from their facility at Gillis Long to Chennault Industrial Air Park.

Cameron Parish

The National Guard has 40 guardsmen in the parish and National Guard boats working with Wildlife and Fisheries rescued 3 adults, 1 toddler and 2 dogs from Choupique Bayou. The Louisiana National Guard Special Reaction Team (SRT) located in Lake Charles is prepared to deploy to Cameron.  SRT is a quick reaction team composed of military police and national guardsmen who hold law enforcement occupations in the civilian sector. National Guard Satellite Communication Team (ASOS) will be in place tomorrow, Sunday, 14 September.

Iberia Parish

The National Guard has 157 guardsmen and nine high water rescue vehicles in the parish, and they will be providing additional personnel to assist in patrolling the parish during their 24 hour curfew period.

Jefferson Parish

The National Guard has 141 guardsmen and 58 high water rescue vehicles in the parish.

National Guard aircraft airlifting emergency food and water from Houma to Grand Isle. National Guard resources are also conducting security missions and standing by to support the town of Lafitte.

Jefferson Davis Parish

The National Guard has 79 guardsmen and 31 boats in the parish. Additionally, there is a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) also located there.

Lafourche Parish

There are 128 guardsmen in the parish, and 25 soldiers are assisting in sandbagging a secondary levee in Larose. Lilly pads for search and rescue are located at Thibodeaux Airport, Nicholls State Soccer Field, Raceland Recreation Center and the Greater Lafourche Port Commission Heliport. Three dump trucks have been sent to Larose truck stop to be prepared to handle the West 2nd Street Floodgates.

Orleans Parish

The National Guard has 792 guardsmen and 26 high water rescue vehicles. The Guard continues to provide security in New Orleans and an Engineer Assessment Team has been dispatched to inspect various hot spots in levee system.

Plaquemines Parish

The National Guard has 253 guardsmen and eight high water rescue vehicles in the parish. The Guard completed sandbag operations in Braithwaite and Scarsdale areas. 

St. Mary Parish

The National Guard has 40 guardsmen and a high water rescue vehicle in the parish. Guardsmen conducted door-to-door searches looking for personnel in the Pecan Acres subdivision and 18 people were rescued. Also, the Guard assisted in the evacuation of Franklin Hospital, and 12 Military Police are assisting the local sheriff with security efforts.

Terrebonne Parish

The National Guard has 150 guardsmen and a high water rescue vehicle in the parish. 22 people were rescued from locations in Houma, Dulac and Theriot, and parts of Houma Airport have standing water.

Vermillion Parish

The National Guard has 151 guardsmen and 19 high water rescue vehicles in the parish.

Reports from guardsmen throughout the parish indicate several roads impassable due to water. The Guard is prepared to launch rescue operations from several locations throughout parish, and there is a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) located there.

SEARCH AND RESCUE – WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES

In total today, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reports that they rescued 118 people, 13 dogs, a cat, and four ducks. This is in addition to the 179 people they rescued yesterday before Hurricane Ike made landfall.

There are reports of 42 rescues in Cameron/Calcasieu/Vermillion Parishes, including one case in Calcasieu of a rescue of 8 people, 13 dogs and ducks. Search and rescue missions are actively ongoing in Hackberry where some individuals are now choosing to leave.

Units are working night security patrols by boat in Vermillion Parish, and 32 people have been rescued in Terrebonne, and 26 in Jefferson Parish, where a majority of the Lafitte area is underwater. Six people were rescued in Plaquemines parish, and many more were rescued by the sheriff.

HEALTH CARE

Governor Jindal reported that four nursing homes are on generators, down from six earlier in the day. There are 1,600 people are in special needs shelters, while all medical special needs patients have been returned to Orleans and Jefferson Parishes from the PMAC at LSU. DHH visited 10 nursing homes personally today and will continue to monitor others in storm-effected areas.

 ((More timely updates included in the Governor's briefing on levees is being released through the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities.)), T

26,000 homes flooded in Terrebonne Parish Louisiana

My thoughts and prayers are with the good folks from  Terrebonne Parish - Captain John Verret, Captain Wendy Billiot, Janie Luster and others...

Source: Capital News Bureau, www.2theadvocate.com:

The storm surge from Hurricane Ike flooded 26,000 homes in Terrebonne Parish, state officials said Saturday.“Many in Houma, it is safe to say,” said Chris Macaluso, spokesman for the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration.The flooding made Houma’s airport inaccessible to all aircraft except for helicopters, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.The state also reported:

• 1.5 miles of levee overtopping in Plaquemines Parish.
• The failure of temporary aqua-tube levee protection in Lafitte.

Brennan’s Houston restaurant burns down during Hurricane Ike

Brennan's Restaurant of Houston, a fixture of the downtown area of that city for almost 40 years, burned to the ground as the eye of Hurricane Ike moved into the area near midnight Friday, WHOU-TV reported. Continue>>>

Live Report: Ike's Impact on Coastal Louisiana

The following information was provided by the State of Louisiana: 

Water levels in Southeast Louisiana are beginning to recede and are cresting in south-central Louisiana. Water is rising in Southwestern portions of the state. The federal flood protection system (Grand Isle notwithstanding) has not been compromised; no breaches or overtopping reported. Many non-federal/back levees have been and continue to be overtopped.

(Parishes listed east to west) 

St Tammany: Madisonville streets are inundated resulting in numerous road closures below US 190 including Hwy 22. The parish has opened a shelter in Mandeville. Water is expected to rise to Rita levels. No mandatory evacuations have been declared.

St. Bernard: Louisiana National Guard Blackhawk helicopter is in route for visual inspection of levees. Federal protection system is holding, but non-federal protection has been overtopped. Communities of Hopedale, Shell Beach, and Yscloskey are flooded. Water level gage at Bay Gardene south of Caernarvon shows water level is beginning to fall. 

Plaquemines: National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter is in route for visual inspection of levees. Seven feet of water has been reported on Hwy 39 at White Ditch. A 50-foot wide, five-foot deep scour has been confirmed near Scarsdale. Parish is addressing. Louisiana National Guard is mobilizing 500,000 sandbags to send to the site. Water has crested and is receding. Active flood fights on both east and west banks continue. East bank communities of Braithwaite, Port Nichols and Scarsdale are threatened by flooding. Plaquemines Parish officials report no confirmed home flooding. There are about 1000 homes in the area. The Caernarvon diversion structure has been opened to drain the protected area between river levee and back levee into the Mississippi River. Reports are that the Myrtle Grove back levee, on the west side of the Mississippi River is overtopping.

Orleans/Jefferson: Levees are intact with no breaches or overtopping reported. Pumps are fully functional. London Avenue and 17th Street Canal gates on Lake Pontchartrain have been closed. Harvey Canal Gate on westbank of Jefferson is closed.   

IHNC: Current water elevation is eight feet. Flood walls are built to 12 feet. Water not expected to threaten walls. No ships/boats dislodged.

Lafitte: Lower points on levees and interim protection overtopped. Citizens evacuated. Sandbagging of lower areas continues.

Grand Isle: Louisiana National Guardsmen on site report water is beginning to recede. Island is currently cut off due to three-four foot inundation of La. Hwy 1 below Leeville. Military staged to respond as soon as water recedes. Mayor David Camardelle reported 3-feet of water over Hwy 1. All temporary sand-levee work destroyed and several breaches have formed in original levee on east end of island. Gages in Barataria Bay have indicated peak surge was equal to or slightly higher than Gustav peak. 

Lafourche: All areas below Golden Meadow floodgate are inundated.

Terrebonne: Town of Theriot, north of Falgout Canal, is now experiencing water coming over roads. Non-federal levees in lower Terrebonne have been compromised. Communities of Point Aux Chenes, Montegut, Dulac, and Dularge are flooded. Ten-12 inches of water on streets in communities but main roads continue to be passable. Expectations are that Chauvin is flooded as well but that is not confirmed. Monitoring stations offshore of Timbalier Island reported surge heights approaching Gustav levels, with wave heights of 11 feet. Wind and wave heights measured off Timbalier Island have leveled off. 

St. Mary: Bayou Sale levees (Hwy 317) west of Berwick are being overtopped. Two feet of inundation in lower parish. Hwy 387 is closed. 

Iberia: Water continues to rise as of 3:30 p.m. Hayes Road and Railroad Road are inundated with one-foot of water and are impassable to civilian traffic. Areas south of Hwy 90 and east of Hwy 675 evacuated. Assets are in place should further evacuations be necessary.

Vermilion: All locks/floodgates are closed and undamaged, as are levees. Sheriff reported all residents of Pecan Island, Forked Island, and Intracoastal City have evacuated. Water levels reported as five feet above normal. All assets are on standby. Floodgates and levees okay. Water on road at Avery Island bridge. 

Calcasieu: Calcasieu locks all closed, expected to reopen 8:00 a.m. Sunday. National Guard assets in place.

Cameron: Two feet of water reported over HWY 27 north of Hackberry. Louisiana National Guard reported it rescued a Parish Deputy stranded in vehicle. Hwy 82 to Texas line (including Cameron Court House) and Hwy 27 along coast are inundated with up to five feet of water. National Guard has high water vehicles and boats in place for assistance with evacuations. Parish EOC has moved to Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office.

For the latest information on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information

Hurricane Ike Alert for New Orleans

OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS New Orleans, LA (September 11, 2008)-- As Hurricane Ike draws near the coast of Texas, the citizens of New Orleans should be aware that weather conditions will begin to deteriorate as the night progresses. Residents in New Orleans can expect to experience Tropical Storm force winds as early as midnight and these winds will continue well into the early evening on Friday. There is also a possibility of gusts greater than 55 mph occurring in some areas. These strong winds not only bring the risk of damage to temporary structures, like travel trailers, but they also cause storm surge that can effect lower lying areas. The City is advising those in FEMA trailers of high winds and recommends that they seek secure shelter. The City is also advising residents in the Venetian Isle area of the high winds and flooding and advises that they should monitor local media outlets for the latest information regarding this storm. Storm surge is by far the greatest threat to life and property along the immediate Gulf Coast as well as areas outside of the hurricane protection levee system. The greatest storm surge is expected to occur during the high tide period which ranges from Friday morning till midday. Please take the necessary precaution and stay away from flood waters. The depth of water is not always obvious. Look out for flooding at highway dips, bridges, and low areas. Two feet of water will carry away most automobiles. If you are driving and come upon rapidly rising waters, turn around and find another route. If your route is blocked by flood waters or barricades, find another route. Barricades are put up by local officials to protect people from unsafe roads.

[VOIP-WXNET] VoIP Hurricane Net Situation Report #8: Hurricane Ike Support and Activation

Hello to all... We have received a number of inquiries on when the VoIP Hurricane Net will be reactivating for Hurricane Ike, which is now undergoing a potentially rapid intensification phase, and has now become a large hurricane which could affect a large portion of the Texas Gulf Coast. As of the 8 PM EDT/7 PM CDT Hurricane Ike Intermediate Advisory, a Hurricane Watch has been posted from Cameron Louisiana Westward to Port Mansfield Texas and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron Louisiana. The VoIP Hurricane Net will do a roll-call from stations in the affected area of Hurricane Ike and stations that are not in the affected area of Hurricane Ike but have relays to other hams, hurricane chasers, friends, family or other contacts in the affected area of Hurricane Ike and can relay information back to our net. That roll call net will be Thursday Evening at 930 PM EDT/830 PM CDT. The VoIP Hurricane Net will likely begin formal activation some time Friday Morning and that activation could last through Saturday and into a portion of Sunday Morning. The start time of formal activation will be confirmed in an activation announcement posted some time on Thursday. The weekly VoIP Hurricane Prep Net for Saturday Evening will again be cancelled. Advisories on Hurricane Ike can be obtained via the VoIPWXNet web site by clicking Atlantic Tropical Products off the Main Menu of the web site. They can also be found at the National Hurricane Center web site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team is preparing for a long duration activation for Hurricane Ike in the Friday through Sunday Morning timeframe. Another update will be posted on Thursday. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net! 73,Rob-KD1CY. Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

Pets Left Behind in Terrebonne Parish need help

Locals and volunteers concerned with the pets that may have been left behind in places like Terrebonne, LaFourche and St. Mary’s Parishes have been trying to work through the system to find out information. When no information could be obtained, individuals made their way to Houma on Wednesday 9/3 and again on 9/4.

Animals found include the following:

• A pitbull, crated in a garage, dead from lack of food and water
• A puppy, locked in a garage, no food or water
• 3 pitbulls, no food, 1 no shelter, 2 in kennels, all chained
• 7 cats with no food outside a house, no idea how many inside
• 3 Catahoula dogs, loose
• 2 yellow laborador dogs, loose, now tied to telephone pole

Dead dog and puppy were photographed, live animals were left food and water, and neighbors were left with more food in case residents do not come back within 2 days.

Pre-Hurricane Gustav, volunteers contacted Terrebonne Parish Animal Control and asked if supplies were needed, they were told no.
On Tuesday, after Gustav,  Terrebonne Parish Animal Shelter Manager, Valerie Robinson, was contacted in Alexandria, LA, where she evacuated prior to the storm. She claimed she had not returned b/c no one was allowed in.
On Wednesday, volunteers who visited Houma (to prove that people were allowed in) met sherriff’s department officers who agreed to collect reports of animals needing food, water or veterinarian attention.
When volunteers contacted the sherriff’s department to collect reports on Thursday, an officer told one volunteer that the information had been turned over to the Terrebonne Animal Control Officer.

LSART manager Joe Dubois did not contact Terrebonne Parish prior to Gustav and no one from Terrebonne Parish Animal Control contacted LSART.

Today, 9/5, Dr. Martha Littlefield, the Assistant State Veterinarian of Louisiana contacted a local volunteer organization and informed the founder that no one had any authorization to be in Terrebonne Parish. Anyone caught feeding and watering or rescuing animals in Terrebonne Parish would be arrested by the Terrebonne Parish Sherriff’s Department.

When the founder asked about another volunteer organization who had a MOU (memo of understanding) with Terrebonne Parish currently headed to Houma to assist with medical supplies, veterinarian care, food and water, Dr. Littlefield said “they are my next call.”

Dr. Littlefield’s call was followed by one from the Sherriff’s Department of Terrebonne Parish who told the volunteer that they would arrest anyone entering Terrebonne Parish who was not authorized to be there.

Valerie Robinson, Terrebonne Parish Animal Shelter Manager, told volunteers the following on Thursday, 9/4:
no supplies or pet food is needed in Houma because Animal Control does not intend to shelter animals
The plan in Terrebonne Parish is to euthanize any sick, injured or aggressive animals found.

Terrebonne residents need to know that if they left pets behind, and those pets have escaped from their enclosures and may be roaming free, they are likely scared. Scared animals tend to be aggressive, even if they normally are not. Some animals will guard their property and are aggressive around strangers if the owner is absent.

If your listeners’ animals act aggressively, they will be killed. If their pets are found injured or sick, they will be euthanized.

If your listeners are in Terrebonne Parish and can do so, please provide food and water to those animals whose owners have not yet returned.

Volunteers who saved animal lives in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes after Katrina and Rita by providing food, water, and shelter, are looking for a central # to use so people can report the following:

1. I left a pet behind in Terrebonne Parish – can someone check on it?
2. I am in Terrebonne Parish and know of an animal that needs help

If Terrebonne Parish officials will not allow volunteers to help, all we can do is compile the reports and hope the media will assist us in convincing Terrebonne Parish that lives are being lost every day.


Please call:

Terrebonne Parish President, Michel H. Claudet (985) 873-6401
Assistant to the Parish President: Heather Castillo,  hcastillo@tpcg.org, (985) 873-6401
Valerie Robinson, Terrebonne Parish Animal Shelter Manager,  vrobinson@tpcg.org,  (985) 873-6709
Chief of Police           Pat Boudreaux          pboudreaux@tpcg.org         (985) 873-6371

Unified Command for Terrebonne Parish re-entry 985-873-6357

Terrebonne Parish’s emergency preparedness office:
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff, Vernon Bourgeois, Director 985.876.2500
Jerrold Richard, Assistant Director (985) 873-6357
--

Call up all US GUlf Coast Amateur Radio Stations

The VoIP Hurricane Net will be doing the following for net activation plans based on the 5 PM EDT/2100 UTC Sunday track of Major Hurricane Gustav:

1.) Call-Up Net of all Northern US Gulf Coast Stations that are available to assist the net at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT.

2.) Informal net monitoring from the time the call-up is over until 4 AM ET Monday.

3.) Net Activation to start formally at 4 AM ET Monday. The net activation will last until some point on Tuesday depending on the track and intensity of Gustav.

For the latest advisory information including watches and warnings, you can go to the VoIPWXNet web site and click Atlantic Tropical Products and click on the advisory information for Fay under the Atlantic Tropical Products section. You can also gather the advisory information from the National Hurricane Center web site at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The reporting criteria and activation policy for our net during hurricane net activations can be found on our web site at http://www.voipwx.net

Listen Only IRLP/EchoLink capability include the following systems (Please note due to rapid activation status some listen-only nodes may not be up right at noon time):

IRLP:
Reflector 9508 Sydney Australia Reflector channel 8.
Reflector 9129 New England Reflector channel 9.

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433
*IRESC* Node: 278173
*N1TAI* Node: 269929

A streaming audio feed has been setup thanks to the assistance of David McAnally-WD5M. This is the first time he has setup a streaming audio server so please bear with any technical difficulties. The links are listed below:

http://wx5fwd.net:8000/voipwx.mp3
http://wx5fwd.net:8000/voipwx.ogg
http://live.wx5fwd.net/voipwx.mp3

Bob Carter-KC4QLP has also setup an online stream for up to 32 listeners at the following link:

http://kc4qlp.dyndns.org:8082

An EQSO listen-only feed is also available via KC4QLP-R.

Links to the WD5M streaming audio feeds have also been provided in the Main Menu of the VoIPWXNet web site.

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida, will be active beginning Monday Morning. Below is the typical information WX4NHC issues prior to activation of the WX4NHC Ham Station as provided by WX4NHC Coordinators, Julio Ripoll-WD4R and John McHugh-K4AG:

We request all land based stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected to send us weather data (measured or estimated) and damage reports.

If you are in the affected area and normally monitor on a local Net on VHF, 40 or 80 meters, we would appreciate your checking into the HWN NET or EchoLink/IRLP Net once per Hour to receive the latest Hurricane Advisories and to report your local conditions.

Please do not venture outside during the hurricane to gather weather data.

Your safety is the first priority.

There are many constantly changing atmospheric variables that affect the storm's track and strength.

Please refer to the National Hurricane Center Advisories for official information. www.nhc.noaa.gov

WX4NHC will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net www.hwn.org on 14.325 MHz.

Secondary HF frequencies will be 7.268 MHz and 3.950 MHz +/- QRM, should we loose propagation on 20 meters.

EchoLink "WX-Talk" Conference Room and IRLP node 9219 will also be monitored. www.voipwx.net

WX4NHC will also monitor CWOP, APRS and MADIS/MESONET Automated weather stations in the affected area.

Surface Reports using our On-line Hurricane Report form will be monitored.

Amateur Weather Enthusiasts and ON-NHC Volunteers may report directly to WX4NHC on-line.

http://www.wx4nhc.org/WX-form1.html

ON-NHC Volunteers are both Ham Radio Operators and Non-Ham weather observers that use their own weather instruments to submit "Surface Reports" directly to NHC over the Internet via the WX4NHC on-line report form. These "Surface Reports" are very important as they give Hurricane Specialists at NHC a better idea of what is actually happening on the ground level during the storm.

The WX4NHC Group continues to expand its efforts to increase the quantity and quality of surface reports to include many different modes of reception and groups of people; including HF, VHF/UHF IRLP &
EchoLink, VHF & HF APRS, CWOP NOAA Program and ON-NHC Weather Observers Network.

(see our web site for more information on these programs): www.wx4nhc.org

WX4NHC is very proud to have maintained an active Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center for the past 28 years.

We appreciate all of the volunteers who help with our efforts.

OUR MISSION: TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

--

John Mc Hugh, K4AG
Coordinator for Amateur Radio
National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC
Home page:- http://www.wx4nhc.org

Thanks to all for their continued support for the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

__._,_.___