Hello to all….
….Eastern Massachusetts ARES Stand-By Activation Requested due to Major Nor’easter and some localized requests for Amateur Radio support for the Nor’easter and with large Amateur presence for the Boston Marathon for Monday…
….Stand-By ARES Activation to start Sunday Morning and last into Monday Afternoon/Evening with the time frame to be better defined Saturday Evening or Sunday Morning and updated through the ARES web site….
It is hard to believe as I write this request on Saturday 4/14 that we are expecting a powerful nor’easter. It is a beautiful Saturday with temperatures around 50 degrees and its one of the nicer days we have had in some time in our region.
Nonetheless, a major nor’easter is expected to bring a variety of weather threats to the region Sunday into Monday with the worst of the conditions Sunday and some level of residual impact on Monday. Please refer to Storm Coordination Messages that are posted on the NWS Taunton SKYWARN web site for the weather details at the following link:
http://www.wx1box.org/
While the worst of the storm seems centered around Sunday and we would typically wait a bit longer to go into stand-by mode, with many Amateurs preparing to support the Boston Marathon Monday and the fact that there have been a couple requests for support from served agencies for the nor’easter, now seems a good time to alert people to the storm and place ARES in stand-by mode in case a worst case scenario storm occurs and the storm causes a lot of problems while the Marathon is taking place.
What is ARES Stand-by mode?
ARES stand-by mode is to alert Amateurs within ARES that a mobilization is possible on a wide-scale and that some localized mobilizations are taking place in isolated areas. It means to take a look at your Go-Kit and have batteries and equipment ready to go and charged up and take care of any requirements at home in case a mobilization is required and you can participate. Do NOT self-deploy. Wait for guidance from leadership for any deployment. It is an honor to be ready even if you don’t deploy for the event, Given this is a weather situation, ARES folks are asked to support the SKYWARN program with reports per the reporting criteria and monitor SKYWARN frequencies. The wx1box.org web site has the reporting criteria and frequencies available for review.
Any general Amateurs assigned to volunteer for the Boston Marathon should fulfill their commitment unless their safety/health/physical condition will be affected by the rainy, raw conditions. Any ARES/RACES/SKYWARN Amateurs assigned to volunteer for the Boston Marathon should fulfill that assignment unless called back by their ARES EC or DEC, RACES Radio Officer or EMA Director or if you feel your safety/health/physical condition will be severely affected by the rainy and raw conditions that are expected.
Given the race is expected to go on and conditions will be less than ideal but not as bad as initially thought at this time, the role of Amateurs in the marathon is even more important to protect the runners and be ready to do ambulance requests. The ARES stand-by mode is to get Amateurs that will not be at the Marathon monitoring to support storm operations for SKYWARN and ARES mobilization with little impact to the Amateurs already assigned to the Boston Marathon.
Hopefully, this is just another exercise of our preparedness and capabilities. If not, the ARES leadership looks forward to working with you if any wide scale mobilization is required.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section 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
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