Cape Cod ARES is supporting shelter operations in the wake of the nor’easter that dumped 10-20″ of snow and the weight of the snow coupled with winds of 40-60 MPH has resulted in many power outages, some of which, may last through the overnight hours. Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator and Cape Cod Red Cross Communications Officer, Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, has two Amateurs assisting him with shelter planning and limited communications support.Frank reports that a handful of shelters are open and a couple of those shelters are sheltering people. Its not clear when power will be restored to the hardest hit areas of Cape Cod but it is feared it could last through the overnight hours. Frank has placed Cape Cod ARES on stand-by and is using a small cadre of operators to help with shelter planning and limited communications assistance. Frank reports that the communications infrastructure remains in tact but had shelters needed to be opened during the storm, communications would have been a more significant issue.
SKYWARN was active much of the day Sunday starting in the North Shore of Massachusetts and then spreading across much of the rest of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island Sunday Night. Support was done from the SEMARA (Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association) Club in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts to obtain snowfall and wind/snow damage reports along with coastal flooding reports to Southern New England under call-sign W1AEC. SKYWARN remained active through the night to monitor the extent of infrastructure damage to the region. More damage was reported but luckily temperatures dropped and prevented an even more serious issue with power outages as the lower temperatures made the snow lighter versus the heavier wet snow that fell during Sunday Night. Some areas had power outages for a few hours while other areas, particularly on Cape Cod, have pockets of cities and towns that still do not have power.
At this time, Frank does not anticipate any assistance needed from ARES groups outside of Cape Cod and he will keep the ARES staff appraised the situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Cape Cod and the small number of Hams supporting the Red Cross as we hope power gets restored as soon as possible.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator
SEMARA ARES Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
1 1 1