What is the roles of hams radio in disaster?

Answer 1

In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail. Unlike commercial systems, Amateur radio is not as dependent on terrestrial facilities that can fail. It is dispersed throughout a community without "choke points" such as cellular telephone sites that can be overloaded. Amateur radio operators are experienced in improvising antennas and power sources and most equipment today can be powered by an automobile battery. Annual "Field Days" are held in many countries to practice these emergency improvisational skills. Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can quickly establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance interoperability. Recent examples include the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the 2003 North America blackout and Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, where amateur radio was used to coordinate disaster relief activities when other systems failed. On September 2, 2004, ham radio was used to inform weather forecasters with information on Hurricane Frances live from the Bahamas. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake and resulting tsunami across the Indian ocean wiped out all communications with the Andaman Islands, except for a DX-pedition that provided a means to coordinate relief efforts. Recently, Amateur Radio operators in the People's Republic of China provided emergency communications after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and US hams did similar work following Hurricane Ike. The largest disaster response by U.S. amateur radio operators was during Hurricane Katrina which first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane went through Miami, Florida on August 25, 2005, eventually strengthening to Category 5. More than a thousand ham operators from all over the U.S. converged on the Gulf Coast in an effort to provide emergency communications assistance. Subsequent Congressional hearings highlighted the Amateur Radio response as one of the few examples of what went right in the disaster relief effort.

Answer 2

How information is disseminated by radio satellite television and Ham radio during disasters?Answer-Satellite communication can be used for early warning besides creating awareness and education in the disaster prone areas. One of the early warning systems developed at the center is the Digital Cyclone Warning Dissemination System (DCWDS). Such a system is being planned to be deployed at IMD, Delhi and other vulnerable areas on the coast. Communication facilities can be set up for rescue and relief operation purposes. The WLL - VSAT system has provision for handsets, which can be easily taken, inside the affected areas. Similarly, audio alarms can be sent out to selected areas using digital sound broadcast system. An interactive distance education system is available for imparting training to the staff with two-way data transmission and building up of a database at a central location. Such a system has provision for image transmission of affected areas besides facilities like video conferencing. The MSS Type C reporting terminal developed at the Centre is available for sending short messages directly through satellite. Likewise, the Sat-phones can be deployed for most effective audio communication from remote areas. In the case of the recent Bhuj Earthquake, the Center has demonstrated the setting up of a communication link between Bhuj and Gandhinagar by deploying the AES-SNG. Such a system can also send video pictures of the affected

site for online assessment/ instructions from the control center. Tele-medicine is another area wherein on line help can be provided from bigger hospitals and super specialty doctor/ s. A web camera connected to a laptop PC with uplink facility can be effectively used for tele-medicine consultation. In the response phase of a disaster, the remote sensing techniques can be used for an effective and accurate assessment of the affected area/ s. One of the earliest study in this direction was carried out by the Center was for the 1977 Andhra cyclone which caused a large-scale destruction of the coastal tracts in Krishna delta. A two-step approach using the satellite data (the then available Landsat MSS) and large scale aerial Photography (1: 70,000) was used for the assessment of the damage caused including the unit cost of such a survey. The optical remote sensing data has limited application in providing such an assessment due to cloud cover associated with the cyclones and subsequent flooding. However, in recent years data from microwave sensors like Radarsat have been found extremely useful to overcome the problem of cloud cover. One such example presented here is study of progressive inundation of the East UP floods of 1998 using multidate data of Radarsat under different beam modes viz scansar narrow, SAR standard and SAR extended low. A detailed damage assessment which was made available to the district officials within a fortnight showed that a total area affected was ~5.37 lakh ha (out of this the cropland was ~3.76 lakh ha) with ~4278 villages/ settlements inundated. The unit cost of the satellite survey was found to vary from Rs. 2/- to 20/- per sq km corresponding to the resolution used. The three data sets were found to be useful in monitoring the progressive inundation. Besides the satellite, communication and education can play a proactive role in mitigation through awareness about the types of disaster and as to how prevention measures can be taken up. The people can be educated about their rights and duties as well as about the different prescription to face the situation an almost all the three phases i.e. pre, during and post disaster. Different target groups need to be addressed with different objectives and strategies of communication. The target group includes the victims of the disaster, friends and relatives of victims, government organizations/ officials, NGO's, funding agencies, and international organization engaged in rescue, relief and rehabilitation. They all need different set of communication because each one is performing a different role. Thus, it appears that satellite communication; education and remote sensing can be very well integrated to define the Disaster Management System. Much of this is going to be realized in the ISRO's 10th Five Year Plan. Some of the key elements addressed are creating data base of flood and cyclone prone areas, ortho-photomaps of priority cities and towns located in high risk seismic zones, improvised drought bulletins, operational system for forest fire, GIS based decision support system for disaster management. Similarly, plans that are more comprehensive are underway in the area of satellite communication and education.

-Pratyush Raj

Answer 3

Information is not disseminated by ham radio. Ham radio operators provide vital communications between emergency responders like fire and police, if needed, and provide communications for hospitals, emergency shelters, and so on.

Information dissemination is the job of the emergency command center.

Answer 4

When disaster strikes, terrestrial communications go down and cellular networks are immediately destroyed, there are a Corps, Ambulance, Red Cross, Hospitals of amateur radio operators around the world ready to help. Amateur Radio technologies are constantly evolving, and have in its history found a high degree of importance in emergency communications. The technologies and operations procedures are highly developed and many operators have trained and participated in handling emergency communication traffic acting as a liaison between the public and official sources.

Amateurs as individuals and groups both locally, nationally and worldwide have always put emergency communications at the forefront of the technological hobby. When emergencies start or disasters occur, the rag chewing (normal conversation) stops. All amateurs both by habit and regulation respect the importance of emergency communications and focus on the situation at hand. There is a true camaraderie that overrides any differences of opinion. Perhaps it's because Amateur Radio privileges are hard-earned and thus not given freely. In the days of internet, family radio and citizens band operators, many regard hams as a cut above the rest as civilian communicators.

Answer 5

Unlike cell-phones or satellites, amateur radio (ham radio) relies on the specific unit's antenna to broadcast to other nearby units. This makes them useful during disasters, even when the cell phone towers are out.

To cover larger distances, amateur radio units use 'repeaters,' which receive the signal and rebroadcast it so that it can cover a larger area. In a disaster, repeaters may lose their power source and be less effective, but the individual radios should still work if they have battery power.

Answer 6

One role is to prepare for a disaster. Hams have what is called "Field Day", where they set up their equipment in an outdoor area, using emergency power for their equipment. Another role is in message handling. Some hams relay messages from private citizens to friends and/or relatives in isolated areas such as the North and South poles. This can also be done using a "phone patch", where the person can speak with the other party, in real time. For example, you would call a local ham on the phone and ask him to contact your cousin who is staioned at the South Pole. The ham would then make contact with one of the ham stations at the pole and they would allow your cousin to speak to you directly. This is one-way communication, so while one party is speaking, the other party can only listen, until you say "over", at which time the process is reversed.

Answer 7

Amateur Radio has been used in many disasters. Hams have been used to communicate coordination efforts in tandem with first responders and other key groups during and after the disaster.