Fortunately, the worst of hurricanes Helene and Milton are in the past. The effected communities have had time to evaluate the damage and hopefully found reasons to be grateful. For the rest of us, we can assist as needed, pray for their recovery, and do some self reflection on what we can learn from others’ experiences.
While some residents in hurricane-impacted areas can’t send texts or make calls, amateur radio enthusiasts are helping communicate requests for help and messages between loved ones.
The morning after Hurricane Helene pummeled the eastern seaboard of the US, Thomas Witherspoon inspected the damage to his western North Carolina home. The night before, he listened to the wind whip down trees and snap power lines along the two-mile access road connecting his family to their few neighbors in Buncombe County.
In my opinion, the current “best bang for the buck” of emergency communications capability is to invest in a Starlink Mini and corresponding Starlink service, and an independent source of power for it such as the Ryobi 18V ONE+ 120-Watt Power Source With 12V Output that I discussed in Zero Retries 0169. Turn on your mobile phone’s Voice over Wi-Fi feature, and as long as the Starlink Mini has a clear view of the sky, and power (and your billing is up to date), you have a “works anywhere” mobile phone, text messaging, web browser, apps such as Facebook, weather, etc. With the Starlink Mini’s Wi-Fi, laptops, tablets, even smart televisions have Internet access, with enough bandwidth to be able to share.
All September, the ARRL® Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) has been promoting readiness and resilience for National Preparedness Month. As we come to the end of the month, a hurricane is churning in the Gulf of Mexico, with forecasts of up to 20 feet of storm surge expected to impact large portions of Florida.
This underscores the need to be prepared. Even experienced hams and those who have been through many disasters have to continually work on their resilience plans.
As amateur radio operators, we’re always prepared for the unexpected—whether it’s a natural disaster, a power outage, family pets getting eaten, or an emergency communication scenario. This September, as we observe National Preparedness Month, it’s the perfect time to ensure that all aspects of our emergency readiness are covered. One often overlooked but vital aspect of preparedness is securing the data on our computers through regular backups.
