Emergency Communications

Hello to all,

Eastern Mass. ARES has been approached by Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton to develop a hospital/ham radio relationship for emergency communications. Mike Neilsen, W1MPN, Eastern Mass. Section Manager and I met with staff from Good Samaritan hospital and came to a preliminary agreement. We will be persuing a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with them in the very near future.

In the meantime, we would like to start recruiting for folks who might be interested in being a regular part of Good Samaritan’s Emergency Communications Response Team. As such, each participant will be registered with the hospital’s Volunteer Department and issued an appropriate Volunteer ID that will allow access to the Good Samaritan Campus. Arrangements will be developed for regular training exercises so that participants can get to know the hospital and its equipment.

Good Samaritan is working on developing a three hospital (i.e. Good Samaritan, Norwood, & St. Anne’s) grant program to obtain the necessary equipment.

If you are interested in becoming part of this program, please contact me at my email address listed below. Also, please forward along this request to all those hams who are not part of this list, who might be interested in participating in this endeavor.

Thanks,

Carl, N1FY – Assistant Section Manager/SEC for Eastern Mass. ARRL/ARES

caave at peoplepc.com

Hello to all..

The following announcement is about the Search Dogs of Northeast Non-Profit organization seeking Amateur Radio/ARES support for communications in search and rescue exercises and real events. See announcement below:

A non-profit search dog organization in MA and RI is looking for communication
support.  They may need to conduct large area searches beyond the
capabilities of their existing radio’s.

Volunteers would work directly with the search dog teams – and would be
on short notice call- which is the current practice with the dog
handlers now.

Volunteers must be in good health – able to handle lengthy walks in
rough terrain in all weather conditions.

The teams have standards for support personnel that need to be met:
-CPR, and First responder first aid, or EMT, or higher EMS.
(Arrangements will be made to provide the first responder training
through fire department volunteers)
-You will have to pass each states courses for Navigation and Search.
-You will have to pass Massachusetts and Rhodes Island State police
criminal records checks

Volunteers will need to provide their own go-kit with food, water, or
other items.

Job will include tasks to relieve the dog-handler of distractions i.e.
Navigation support (personal GPS and skill using it desirable), map
reading,  and radio communication via ham radio and other frequencies
allocated to the dog teams.

You will also be used as a subject for training searches, asked to hide
in remote places during training sessions.

Support may also include operating the search dog team base station.

Volunteers are expected to attend 9 training exercises with the dog
teams to get familiar with typical operations and the teams.

Interested hams please contact:
Phil McNamara N1XTB N1XTB at powersrvcs.com
Carl Aveni N1FY caave at peoplepc.com
Joe Krisnosky N1IXC joek54 at comcast.net
—
Phil McNamara (N1XTB) – South Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator

Hello to all..

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority reported a major water pipe leak in the town of Weston, Massachusetts at approximately 130 PM Saturday May 1st. A boil-water order had been placed into effect for numerous communities in the MWRA coverage area and Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency to enable National Guard troop use for this situation.

At 345 AM Tuesday May 4th, the boil water order was lifted for all 30 affected communities. Repairs were made to the water main pipe coupling that failed and the repair is working well with water now flowing from the main water supply once again. Water tests from all communities have come back positive and that is why the boil water order has been lifted. The MWRA, MEMA and the Governor’s Office has issued post-boil water order instructions for the communities affected by the water main break. Complete details and updates can be seen via the following links:

MWRA Press Release Information:
http://www.mwra.com

MWRA Water Testing Update:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=alert_landingpage&ID=225&sid=Eeops

Governor Patrick’s Press Release on Boil Water Order Being Lifted:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=050410_boil_order_lifted&csid=Agov3

MEMA Main Page:
http://www.mass.gov/mema

The Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) will remain at full activation for today. The operation will now switch to recovering all water in staging and establish storage sites at two locations. RACES has not been activated at the region/state level and activation of Eastern Massachusetts ARES is not anticipated as operations begin to wind down.

We will continue to montior this situation but barring an unforeseen escalation of this incident, this will be the last situation report issued as the MWRA Water Emergency has ended. Thanks to all for their support and monitoring of this incident and we hope those that were affected can now get back to normal usage of their water supply!

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

Hello to all..

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority reported a major water pipe leak in the town of Weston, Massachusetts at approximately 130 PM today. Later today, it was determined that a 120″ diameter pipe that transports water to communities as far north as Wilmington and south to Stoughton was impacted. The leak has been stopped at this pipe in Weston as of an update at 847 PM Saturday Evening May 1st. A boil-water order has been placed into effect for numerous communities in the MWRA coverage area and Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency to enable National Guard troop use for this situation. Complete details and updates on this rapidly developing situation can be seen via the following links:

MWRA Update Page:
http://www.mwra.com/updates/leak.html

MWRA Water Main Break Requires Boil Water Order:
http://www.mwra.com/01news/2010/boilwaterorder1.htm

MWRA Main Page:
http://www.mwra.com/

MEMA Main Page:
http://www.mass.gov/mema

State of Emergency: MWRA Water Main Break Requires Boil Water Order
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=alert_landingpage&ID=226&sid=Eeops

The Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is at full activation at this time. At the moment, RACES has not been activated at the region/state level. Local communities may activate their local RACES at their local Emergency Management Director’s discretion. At this time, Eastern Massachusetts ARES leadership is monitoring the situation. A stand-by for ARES has not been issued yet but we’ll continue to closely monitor this rapidly changing situation in case Amateur Radio utilization for supplemental communication is needed in any capacity by Non-Governmental Organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army or if requested by RACES personnel to support any operations that may require.

We will continue to montior this situation. Sitreps will be posted as needed on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site and various email lists. Please monitor your email and the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site as required over the next several days for updates. Thanks to all for their support!

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

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

 

Hello to all..

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES TO GO ON STAND-BY FOR ALL AREAS BEGINNING AT 3 PM EDT MONDAY MARCH 29TH 2010 THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING APRIL 1ST 2010 DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOBILIZATION FROM A SLOW MOVING COASTAL STORM THAT WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD 3-6″ RAINFALL WITH AN AXES OF HIGHER AMOUNTS SOMEWHERE IN NEW ENGLAND DUE TO SIGNIFICANT RIVER/STREAM/URBAN FLOODING OVER MUCH OF NEW ENGLAND***
***SKYWARN ACTIVATION WITH OPS AT NWS TAUNTON WILL COMMENCE AT 3 PM MONDAY AFTERNOON AND LAST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AND INTO TUESDAY EVENING**

Another in what has been a series of significant coastal storms that has affected the region in the month of March will affect the region with significant river, stream and urban flooding with 3-6″ of rainfall and isolated higher amounts likely with the potential of an axis of heavier amounts somewhere in Southern New England. Due to the past coastal storms that have caused flooding and saturated the ground and the amount of rainfall this storm will bring, Eastern Massachusetts ARES will be placed on stand-by beginning at 3 PM Monday March 29th lasting through Thursday Evening April 1st. There is the possibility that ARES Stand-By could be extended past April 1st if it takes longer for the recovery phase of the operation to occur or recinded early if the storm is less than expected. It is also noted that New Hampshire ARES has been elevated to a Level-2 activation for SKYWARN and potential ARES support for served agencies in their section as well. The following is a link to the Storm Coordination Message that has all of the data on the storm’s potential impact:

http://www.wx1box.org/node/136

We’d like to have ARES personnel continue to assist with SKYWARN reporting of any river, stream, urban flooding by providing pictures where possible.   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.

Please advise your local EC/DEC/ADEC of your availability to support a potential deployment anytime over the next week through Thursday April 1st. 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.

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

Hello to all..

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Stand-by status is now secured at 8 AM ET Monday March 22nd, 2010. Over the past 3 days, ARES was active supporting the Red Cross with communications support for damage assessment on Friday March 19th and North Shore ARES was active supporting the distribution of Red Cross clean-up kits working with Peabody Emergency Management during the daytime hours of Saturday and Sunday. A brief synopsis of each activation follows below:

Red Cross requested ARES support for damage assessment on Friday March 19th for the entire day. Six Amateur Operators deployed to the Red Cross field office in Haverhill for supporting this activity. The Ham Radio piece of the operation was small but did help support the damage assessment work and allowed for a good exercise in supporting such an operation in the future. In the past several years, many of the players for Red Cross had changed and this was an opportunity to meet many of these new people and to establish relationships. The activation was successful and Red Cross viewed the operation and the work done by Hams as an asset for future incidents.

North Shore ARES was active supporting Peabody Emergency Management with the distribution of clean-up kits to citizens in and around Peabody. Much of the communications occurred on simplex and was to help coordinate the distribution of the kits. The operation lasted from 9 AM-6 PM Saturday March 20th and 10 AM-3 PM Sunday March 21st. Approximately 12 Amateurs took place in this operation supporting Red Cross and Peabody Emergency Management. Further details on these activations will be posted next week or in early April.

At the time of writing this status message, additional rainfall of 1-3″ with isolated higher amounts and the potential for renewed flooding threatens the Eastern Massachusetts section as we get into Tuesday Morning and Afternoon. A Flood Watch is in effect for the entire Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section except for Cape Cod and the Islands. The watch extends into Worcester County of the Western Massachusetts section, Rhode Island and Southern New Hampshire. The rainfall will not be as significant as what we just had so flooding should not be as significant, however, it will not take as much rainfall to cause flooding over the region. At this time, the current thinking is that any flooding that takes place will fall below ARES activation thresholds but this will be monitored closely and those Hams involved in ARES and SKYWARN are asked to keep a close eye on rivers and streams as the potential for renewed flooding and report in observations that meet the SKYWARN reporting thresholds. Below is information on the rivers that remain in minor flooding as well as the Flood Watch Statement as posted by NWS Taunton:

NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus61.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Flood Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus81.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

Thanks to all for their continued support for 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

Hello to all..

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES CONTINUES STAND-BY FOR ALL AREAS DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOBILIZATION STARTING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON MARCH 20^TH 12 PM ET DUE TO MAJOR STORM THAT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION AS WELL AS BROUGHT POCKETS OF WIND DAMAGE TO THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION***
***MEMA/FEMA/RED CROSS COMMENCED DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OPERATIONS WEDNESDAY MARCH 17TH AND ARES STAFF CHECKING WITH AGENCIES ON ANY NEEDS FOR THIS ASSESSMENT***

A significant coastal storm affected the region with significant river, stream and urban flooding. Secondarily, the storm has brought down pockets of trees and power lines across portions of the Eastern Massachusetts section.  Due to the significant flooding and pockets of wind damage that has been reported, Eastern Massachusetts ARES continues in stand-by mode from through 12 PM ET Saturday Afternoon in the event that support is requested by our served agencies.  There have been numerous reports of significant flooding which has included evacuation of apartment complexes. Winds to near hurricane force on Cape Cod and the Islands Sunday Morning and wind gusts to 50 MPH or more occurred in the Eastern Massachusetts section Sunday and Monday.  A complete listing of storm damage reports and current NWS-Taunton statements can be found at: 

Local Storm Report:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nwus51.KBOX.html

Public Information Statement:  http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1003162127.nous41.html

Flood Warning:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus41.KBOX.html

Flood Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus81.KBOX.html

As of Thursday morning, a press release was sent by MEMA concerning damage assessment in the wake of this major storm. It is here where Amateur Radio resources ‘may’ be requested similar to what occcurred in the May Floods of 2006. Frank O’Laughlin-WQ1O, Cape Cod ARES DEC and Red Cross Communications Officer is checking in with Red Cross officials to determine if our help maybe needed to assess damage areas. It is noted that all reports from the National Weather Service on flooding and damage and pictures provided by various Amateur Radio Operators with appropriate credit to those folks has been forward to state and federal emergency management, the National Weather Service and media outlets. A link to the MEMA Press Release on damage assessment appears below:

http://www.wx1box.org/local/News_Release_Flood_PDA_Mar2010.doc

We’d like to have ARES personnel continue to assist with SKYWARN reporting of any river, stream, urban flooding by providing pictures where possible.   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.

Please advise your local EC/DEC/ADEC of your availability to support a potential deployment anytime over the next week through Sunday March 22nd. 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.

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

ARES is still on stand-by status as shelters are open for ongoing flooding and power servcice problems in our region.  Please check the ARES site for details.  Click to the site can be found in the left column of this page.

Hello to all..

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES PLACED ON STAND-BY FOR ALL AREAS DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOBILIZATION STARTING AT 8 PM ET SUNDAY LASTING THROUGH AT LEAST 9 AM TUESDAY MORNING DUE TO MAJOR STORM THAT IS ONGOING AND CAUSING SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION AS WELL AS BROUGHT POCKETS OF WIND DAMAGE TO THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION***

***OTHER AREAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THIS SITUATION FOR ANY SIGNIFCANT CHANGES***

***SKYWARN ACTIVATION WITH OPS AT NWS TAUNTON CONTINUES UNTIL 12 AM ET MONDAY AND WILL TEMPORARILY SECURE AND THEN RECOMMENCE AT 6 AM ET MONDAY***  

A significant coastal storm continues to affect the region with significant river, stream and urban flooding. Secondarily, the storm has brought down pockets of trees and power lines across portions of the Eastern Massachusetts section.  Due to the significant flooding and pockets of wind damage that has been reported, we are placing Eastern Massachusetts ARES in stand-by mode from 8 PM ET Sunday Evening through at least 9 AM Tuesday Morning in the event that support is requested by our served agencies.  There have been numerous reports of significant flooding which has included evacuation of apartment complexes. Winds to near hurricane force on Cape Cod and the Islands and wind gusts to 50 MPH or more have occurred in the Eastern Massachusetts section. While winds have temporarily subsided, another round of strong to damaging winds are expected on Monday

Hello to all..

***MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK DECLARES A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR THE IMPACTS OF THE MAJOR NOREASTER THAT HAS IMPACTED THE COMMONWEALTH***

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES CONTINUES STAND-BY FOR ALL AREAS DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOBILIZATION STARTING AT 8 PM ET SUNDAY AND HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON MARCH 20^TH 12 PM ET DUE TO MAJOR STORM THAT IS ONGOING AND CAUSING SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION AS WELL AS BROUGHT POCKETS OF WIND DAMAGE TO THE EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION***
***OTHER AREAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THIS SITUATION FOR ANY SIGNIFCANT CHANGES***

***SKYWARN ACTIVATION WITH OPS AT NWS TAUNTON WILL TEMPORARILY SECURE AT APPROXIMATELY 10 PM MONDAY EVENING AND REACTIVATE ON TUESDAY FOR THE IMPACT OF THIS MAJOR STORM BEFORE SECURING BY TUESDAY EVENING***  

A significant coastal storm continues to affect the region with significant river, stream and urban flooding. Secondarily, the storm has brought down pockets of trees and power lines across portions of the Eastern Massachusetts section.  Due to the significant flooding and pockets of wind damage that has been reported, we have placed Eastern Massachusetts ARES in stand-by mode from 8 PM ET Sunday Evening and extended the standby mobilization status through 12 PM ET Saturday Afternoon in the event that support is requested by our served agencies.  There have been numerous reports of significant flooding which has included evacuation of apartment complexes. Winds to near hurricane force on Cape Cod and the Islands and wind gusts to 50 MPH or more have occurred in the Eastern Massachusetts section. Another round of winds with gusts to 50-60 MPH will occur overnight before the storm finally departs from the region Tuesday. A complete listing of storm damage reports and current NWS-Taunton statements can be found at: 

Local Storm Report:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nwus51.KBOX.html

Public Information Statement:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nous41.KBOX.html

Coastal Flood Advisory:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.whus41.KBOX.html

Flood Warning:  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus41.KBOX.html

Flood Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus81.KBOX.html

The Massachusetts STATE EOC and Regional offices are now in a full activation mode to monitor the progress of this storm.  Other than local support at the city/town level, there have been no formal requests for widespread assistance from our served agencies (i.e.: Red Cross and Salvation Army among others) in Eastern MA and our Eastern Massachusetts ARES leadership continues to closely monitor this changing situation.  It is noted that 2 regional American Red Cross shelters have been opened which are the Arlington School in Lawrence and the Brockton High school in Brockton. To date, phone services continue to be in place but that could change, as rivers are still not at the point of cresting. In addition, auxiliary support resources by served agencies such as the Red Cross may be utilized for damage assessment similar to what was done in the May Floods of 2006. A request of this type occurred several days after the floods and the storm had passed. Therefore, the ARES Stand-By mobilization has been extended in case such an agency request occurs. 

We’d like to have ARES personnel continue to assist with SKYWARN reporting of any river, stream, urban flooding, wind damage and power outages, along with reports of coastal flooding.   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.

Please advise your local EC/DEC/ADEC of your availability to support a potential deployment anytime over the next week through Sunday March 22nd. 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.

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

 

 

Hello to all…

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES SECURED FROM ALL OPERATIONS AS OF 18:00 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28***
 
***PLEASE SEND AFTER ACTION COMMENTS TO YOUR EC OR DEC***
 
***SKYWARN ACTIVATION POSSIBLE NEXT 24-48 HOURS FOR UPCOMING STORM SYSTEM – SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS***

The following is the final sit-rep to update the ARES activities that have been taking place in the Eastern Massachusetts section barring any significant changes to the incident.   After supporting the American Red Cross Northeast Massachusetts chapter on Saturday, no requests for support were received on Sunday.  Power outages across Massachusetts have been reduced to below 2,000 total affected customers from National Grid, again most centered on the North Shore area.  Therefore, we will allow Eastern Massachusetts ARES to stand down effective 18:00 this evening.  In the unlikely event additional support requests are received, local activations may take place but the threat for a wide-scale ARES operation has now passed. 
 
A significant number of power outages remain in NH (approximately 87,000) even with approximately 2/3 of customers restored,  however we have not received any support requests from our New Hampshire ARES neighbors.  Eastern MA ARES staff will continue to closely monitor the situation in the event an ARES-MAT request does come through, however this is also considered unlikely and we wish our friends to the north a rapid recovery from the storm as well.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every ARES operator who volunteered their availability in the event additional support was requested or required.  Remember, it takes a team of operators to make Eastern MA ARES the success that it has become – no one individual can take the reins alone.   All of your support is tremendously appreciated.
 
If you have any damage pictures from this event, please send them along to your EC or DEC or directly to myself (kb1kqw@nsradio.org) for use by Emergency Management and National Weather Service officials, along with an upcoming SKYWARN recap video that will incorporate this storm.  All pictures are helpful and we thank you in advance for sending them along.
 
Please send any after-action comments that you may have to your DEC or local EC who will relay this information to Eric-KA1NCF and myself, and all comments will be reviewed by EMA ARES staff at an upcoming meeting.  All feedback is appreciated, either negative or positive, and will be used to refine our future operations.
 
Looking towards the future, a storm system will affect portions of the region with some winter weather, strong winds, and a potential for coastal flooding along the Eastern Massachusetts coast.  SKYWARN activation of some form is possible over the next 24-48 hours, so please stay tuned to your email for any potential activation messages.  The following statements have been issued:
 
Winter Weather Advisory (Essex County):  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html
Coastal Flood Watch (Eastern MA Coast):  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.whus41.KBOX.html
Wind Advisory (Cape and Islands):  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html
Flood Warnings (Continued):  http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus81.KBOX.html

Again, a heartfelt thanks to everyone for either deploying or standing ready to deploy.  It has been a pleasure to work with all of you and thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jim Palmer – KB1KQW
Eastern Massachusetts Asst. Section Emergency Coordinator
North-side Operations

Carl Aveni – N1FY
Eastern Massachusetts Asst. Section Emergency Coordinator
South-side Operations