How We managed to Handle and Emergency Radio Communication

ACTIVEHAMS AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY AARS-KL A Scientific Research Society.

Govt Reg No : KLM/TC/196/2018 AARL-KL President : Rajasekharan Nair (VU2RJR +91 99958 28660) | Secretory : Nishath AK (VU3MOE - +91 70124 14506) | Vice President : Biju Gopi Thilaka (VU2HBI - +91 944745 1144)

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Case ID : CS-AARS-2018-08-GAJ Topic : Disaster Managem ent & Ham Radio Cyclone Gaja

The first inter state disaster m itigation operation by active Ham am ateur radio society as per the request from Cuddalore district collector, and authorities from Chidam baram . W e are capable to m obilize our team within planned tim e. Congrats to the brave heroes of active ham s Am id concerns over Cyclone Gaja, Ham radio com m unication was set up at the Cuddalore district collectorate. It was set up by Active Ham s Am ateur Radio Society, which has carried out several rescue efforts, including the Kerala flood rescue m ission earlier this year. A group of eight ham radio operators from AARS-KL reached here on Thursday to handle em ergency com m unications that m ight be required during Cyclone Gaja as per request from Cuddalore district authorities.All are well-experienced Com m unity Rescue Volunteers (CRV), having handled critical em ergency situations in the past.

How we m anaged to handle an E m ergency Com m unication 500 Miles away from our Location,How W e m anaged to Handle and E m ergency Radio Com m unication and be a part of an Inter-State Disaster Mitigation P lan By Governm ent of Tam ilNadu

2018 Novem ber 15th afternoon we have received a m obile m essage requesting Ham radio backup com m unication support required for neighbouring state related to Cyclone Gaja, there was couple of m obile contact num bers was in that m essage. One of the Actiev Ham was forwarded this m essage to the Vice P resident. after reading this m essage and VU2HBI analysis the current weather alters and other bulletin of cyclone Gaja. During this tim e HBI along with the Secratory of Active Ham s MOE , had som e telephone calls with the given num ber, One am ong the num ber belongs to Thahasildar ( District m agistrate ) of Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin, the official nam e until 2018) is a port city and a m unicipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tam il Nadu.They were very happy to hear the support from neighbouring state ham radio operators. there was another parallel discussion was going on in our local com m unication channel, VU3ROO the Iron m an of Active Ham s was heading the planing of em ergency com m unication for Gaja with the available ham s. VU3CQC Thajudeen was busy with arranging the vehicle to com m ute to the destination , which is 600 Kilom etres away from Active Ham s Head Quarters in Kollam District.

W ith in 1hour we have form ed a group of 10 Active Ham s, are willing to m ove to the location. The next 2-3 hour was quite busy by setting up the go-box, em ergency kit, select the right tough vehicle to cross unexpected terrain and hard weather.

VU2HBI Vice P resident of AARS was in Hyderabad that tim e, he was m aking telephone call to the Thoothukudi , Kadallur District authorities especially Anm buselvan, IAS – Collector and District Magistrate Cuddlore to ensure the collect the correct requirem ent of district authorities.

There was another group of senior radio am ateurs from Banglore was heading towards Tuticorin. HB I had couple of phone calls to these groups also. VU3CQC Thaju, Alan , Roy and the Veteran VU2MTU Mathew was ready to m ove with their go-box and tools, P ower-banks, Back-Up power supply.

At 14:00 IST the E m ergency com m unication team started their journey from Kollm to Cuddlore. To cover this 600 Kilom etre in Night tim e ,Unknown Indian Road, in m any ares the average speed was 40-50 Kilom etres only, that was a risky drive, apart from this the Cyclone warning alerts was in radio and TV was going on.

But none of this alerts was an issue for our brave team s W hatever problem s we have, our courageous people decided to go forward.During the whole journey HBI MOE and other fellow ham s were calling the rescue m ission people. after m any hours of journey they have reached Cuddlore next m orning. By that tim e the authorities had m anaged to setup the control room in Collectorate with the help of B angalore Team . The authorities at Cuddlore had m anage the evacuation in a better way and setting up the shelters in safe place. This is the tim e to setup their stations in Sheltors as well as connecting to control room . Cuddlore is coastline are and VHF com m unication m ust have som e issues. The team has seperated and m oved to their assigned shelter location and control room . Most of the shelter location was 20-40 Km apart.

The First Issue After setting up the shelter stations, two operators were in VHF Gray area , there is no control room access, but one Station , VU2MTU has access to all stations as well as to control room at collectorate. So MAathew VU2MTU station was double duty. One it to com m unicate to Control room and other one was relying the Message from VHF Gray Are stations to Control room . Mean tim e Roy VU3ROO was shifting his Antenna to higher location in the shelter room , there was high winds and rain that tim e. B ut som ehow he was succeeded to com m unicate to all stations and control room also.

The whole day was in tension, but after evening the windy weather conditions has becom e worse. The whole night was terrifying to the coastal com m unities due to the Cyclone followed by heavy rain.The Next day m orning there was som e relief to the wind and rain. And afternoon the weather has changed the authorities declared Cyclone Gja has passed the coastal line of Tam il Nadu.

The Next day the Cuddlore Collector had a m eeting with the breve Aasrians who m anged the em ergency com m unication during this harsh situation, The Collector and his team was well surprised when he hear the Com m unity Rescue Volunteer (CRV) Training P rogram from F ire & Rescue Office to the Active Ham s.

This program has helped the Active Ham s to Manage any m edical em ergencies along with their Radio Com m unications Skills.

Lessons Learned, Solutions and Suggestions from Active Hams Amateur Radio Society and Associated Groups 

E stablishm ent of m ultichannel all m ode Com m unication, Activate alternative com m unication equipm ent i.e. satellite phones,HF /VHF sets, Ham radio, VSAT in State E OC and E RCs, DE OCs and Taluk control room s

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E stablish com m unication links with E RCs and Search & Rescue Team s in all Municipal Corporations and alert them to be in stage of readiness.

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E stablish com m unication links with villages likely to be affected as per the contact details available.

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On receiving an initial disaster warning, District authorities are provided with satellite phones and a Ham radios to m aintain effective com m unication, even if terrestrial and cellphone com m unication fails.

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Registering the contact details of active ham radio operators details with district authorities , who are ready to volunteer their tim e and skills during an em ergency situation, will help to m obilize the Radio team effectively.

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Here we have developed a m obile application will provide the current location of ham radio operators and district authorities can send alert to the operators directly with this application. This was under developm ent under Biju Gopi Thilaka (Call sign : VU2HB I),A ham radio operator and a software expert.

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E very P anchayat should have a com m unication centre equipped with well m aintained Ham Radio E quipm ent,W ireless repeaters, com m unication antennas & cables. W e suggest to every district ,

panchayat adm inistration m ust have couple of hand-held, portable com m unication radio, or Gobox (radio com m unication devices and power supply packed in a box).

Suggestions W hat we found that even if we have an expert Ham radio Operator who is trained to m anage disasters and first aid, there would be no sufficient com m unication equipm ent. In all the tim e ham radio operators use their expensive radio equipm ent during hard weather conditions.W e suggest every district headquarters or panchayat m ust have a secure room equipped with com m unication equipm ent.

Due to the restriction and stringent laws are reduced the num ber of wireless equipm ent im port from abroad.As well as high im port tax is an another problem , At least if the authorities will reduce this tax for Am ateur radio equipm ent will help the ham radio com m unity in India.

References, External Links and Media Coverage for Ham Radio Support for Cyclone Gaja Machinery in place to take on Cyclone Gaja in Ram nad 2.All arrangem ents in place to tackle Cyclone Gaja 3.Kerala Regional News Channel, Kollam (YouTube Link) 4.Ham radio operators tune in (The Hindu News) 5.The Im portance of HAM Radio During a Storm 6.Disaster and E m ergency P lanning for P reparedness