Hurricane Sandy Spawns Lessons Learned for Connecticut ARES

Article posed from ARRL.org ARES E-Letter, December 19, 2012
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Hurricane Sandy Spawns Lessons Learned for Connecticut ARES



In last month's issue, Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, reported on her section's comprehensive deployment for massive storm Sandy. This month, her Section Emergency Coordinator Wayne Gronlund, N1CLV, offers his perspective on lessons learned from the event:

The old adage that "a disaster is not the time to be exchanging business cards" was validated. In areas where strong relationships had been previously developed with our served agencies (Red Cross, Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and municipal governments), requests for Amateur Radio assistance in shelters and at EOCs were quickly and effectively handled at the local level. In those areas where ARES/SKYWARN officials exercised active/strong leadership and were proactive in offering and providing Amateur Radio support, there were a lot of useful and productive assignments available to our volunteers.

The five regional DECs and the SKYWARN DEC (or their designated representatives) participated in statewide SEC nets conducted every two hours. The SEC net gave me a good feel for where things were going well and where they were not. Section Manager Doane was an active participant and helped me to identify and address any issues in our response.

VHF/UHF frequencies (both repeater and simplex) provided the primary platform for our disaster response and emergency communications needs. During the widespread power outages, many of our repeater systems shifted to emergency power and continued to function. Repeater owners and control operators did an extraordinary job of keeping us on the air. The KB1AEV linked system in particular remained viable and provided coverage for approximately 80% of the state. Many of the facilities where we rendered assistance would not easily accommodate deployment of HF antennas.

Areas for Improvement

A significant number of our volunteers are affiliated with both ARES/SKYWARN and the Red Cross (and to some extent, other volunteer groups who provide disaster support). Depending on the nature of the incident, volunteers may choose to assist one of the other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whom they support rather than ARES/SKYWARN. This "double counting" of resources creates a shortfall in the numbers of operators expected to be available to help.

Getting more ARES/SKYWARN leaders at all levels (ASEC/DEC/ADEC/EC/AEC) to exercise what we in the Coast Guard call "trained initiative" would improve our effectiveness when communications up/down the chain of command are difficult or not readily available. Those leadership officials with local situational awareness who know what needs to be done and how to get it done right without being told do so, could help to decentralize control and make the entire organization more responsive. Note: this is NOT suggesting self-deployment of ARES/SKYWARN members, but rather leadership being exercised at the lowest levels of the organization.

-- Wayne Gronlund, N1CLV, Connecticut Section Emergency Coordinator