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AMATEUR RADIO
RESPONSE TO ARIZONA FLOODING CONTINUES
Amateurs in Arizona so far have logged nearly two weeks of support for American Red Cross relief efforts in the wake of a double-whammy of flooding. All 1200 residents of the town of Wenden--some 80 miles west of
Phoenix--had to be evacuated last weekend. Some residents had just finished cleaning up their homes after flash flooding a week earlier.
Red Cross volunteer and ARES Emergency Coordinator Dave McCarthy, KC7AYX, reports that over the past 12 days, Red Cross shelters and service centers have been opened and moved as the affected area was hit by additional rain.
More than one inch of rain fell October 27 and 28 in Wenden, which normally sees a fraction of that this time of year. McCarthy says hams have been riding along with the four Red Cross emergency response vehicles being used to supply food and blankets to the affected areas.
Flooding in Wenden began October 21, when heavy rainfall swept into the normally arid Centennial Wash--a river bed that only fills during storms. Gov Jane Hull has declared a state of emergency, and the National Guard has been called in to assist.
McCarthy said that during the first three days of the operation--which began October 22--up to
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two dozen hams from Yuma, La Paz, Mohave and Maricopa
counties responded to requests to assist with communications. McCarthy said this week that fewer hams have been needed to help with communication as
telephones and a radio system base station have been installed in the Red Cross service center. But, he said hams were being kept on alert because of the possibility of more wet weather.
According to McCarthy, some media accounts have mentioned Amateur Radio's contribution to the flood relief effort. "Amateur Radio has really come through on this," he said.
ARES EC Bob St Clair, N7VVA, said amateurs from the London Bridge Amateur Radio Association with help from the Western Arizona Radio Club and the Auxiliary Communications Group from Yuma County assisted in the flood zone during the week of October 22. St Clair said hams helped with communications in Wenden, Parker and other affected communities.
"This has been a learning experience, and it has followed the training that we have been conducting here in Lake Havasu City for the past seven years,"
St Clair said. "Murphy didn't have a chance. This time, we had it covered."
Reprinted from the ARRL News Letter.
KC7PCI
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