Hello to all..
…EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES WILL REMAIN IN STAND-BY STATUS THROUGH MONDAY APRIL 5TH, 2010 IN THE WAKE OF MAJOR TO HISTORIC FLOODING AFFECTING EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND NEIGHBORING RHODE ISLAND…
…GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK HAS KEPT THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN EFFECT FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS AND A FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION HAS BEEN DECREED…
…RED CROSS IS GEARING UP DAMAGE ASSESSMENT EFFORTS. EXTENT OF EFFORTS AND WHETHER IT REQUIRES AMATEUR RADIO SUPPORT OR NOT IS CURRENTLY BEING REVIEWED..
Eastern Massachusetts ARES will extend its stand-by status through Monday Evening April 5th, 2010 in the wake of major river, stream and urban flooding that has significantly impacted the section. While much of the section has received some level of flooding, the hardest hit areas are in Bristol, Norfolk and Plymouth counties of Massachusetts with impacts through Northeast Massachusetts comparable to or slightly less than the March 13th-15th, 2010 flood and major nor’easter event. Rhode Island was also severely impacted by this major storm with major flooding. A complete report will be compiled and sent to the SKYWARN email list and an updated stand-by status message issued with a link to that information no later than the end of the weekend.
Governor Deval Patrick has kept the state of emergency in effect for the commonwealth of Massachusetts with a federal disaster declaration being decreed for the region. At this time, the Red Cross is currently gearing up for damage assessment and determining whether Amateur Radio support will be required. Between this potential support and the fact that the Easter and Passover religious events may delay damage assessment efforts, Eastern Massachusetts ARES stand-by status has been extended through Monday Evening April 5th, 2010 and will be reviewed again at that time. It is noted that the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net will be that Monday Evening so an announcement will be given on the net as well as via the web.
Those ARES folks who are able to do so are asked if they live near a river or stream that is in flood to take pictures of the flooding. Please contact me if you have those pictures and they will be sent with appropriate credit to the person who took the pictures to the National Weather Service, state Emergency Management and the media. If you only want the pictures to go to NWS and/or Emergency Management versus the media, we’ll respect and honor that request and if you want the pictures to be sent anonymously, that will also be accepted. Please contact me via email with the pictures that can be sent through email, or a link to web album or file system.
Beyond the above request, please advise your local EC/DEC/ADEC of your availability to support a potential deployment anytime over the next week through Monday April 5th. Please copy your ASEC and SEC when you send a note to your EC/ADEC. This is being done to cover a situation where the EC/ADEC or DEC is unavailable because they were adversely affected by the storm, out of area or some other exigency has occurred. Keep your situational awareness level high for any updates from ARES leadership by checking your email for updates and our ARES web site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org, monitoring local SKYWARN/ARES/RACES frequencies and reporting into the nets and monitor local media on this potentially significant storm.
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 or could be 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. 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 after the impact of this major storm to the region.
Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org