September is National Preparedness Month, and ARRL is working to arm members with knowledge and resources to be resilient in the face of disaster. Amateur radio serves as a powerful tool and national resource before and When All Else Fails®, but being prepared goes beyond radio.
Morgan County’s independent backup emergency communications network has been busy making the most of their radio experience and the gift of two radio towers from the county to build out a secondary layer of connectivity in case of major disaster locally.
Zero Retries Editor’s Note - In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, there is water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink. My thanks to N2IRZ for these very good, basic points about survival in a disaster. Without the basics of life, like safe water, and especially enough safe water, the “nice to haves” like communications won’t make a difference.
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.
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.
