A Hurricane Drill will be held on Monday 21 June at 1900 throughout the Commmonwealth. Please use your RACES repeater. Please press the “read more” button below to view the exercise including action “envelopes” that are to be reacted to during the exercise. Any questions please contact Tom at n1cpe@amsat.org, or leave message at 508.820.1428. Good luck!RACES/ARES Hurricane Drill
June 21, 2004, 7 – 9 p.m.
Scenario: Hurricane Yolanda is making its way up the coast at a rapid pace. The East Coast is bracing for a category 3 Hurricane as it is moving North- Northeast and is just 50 miles offshore of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Procedure: The drill will be conducted in 3 stages: beginning (checking in and reporting preparedness status), middle (at the height of the hurricane), and end (wrap-up and status reports). Each stage is described in a separate section below, together with the expectations for RACES and ARES participants.
Notes: Primary communication will be on the frequency listed as primary for your community in the Massachusetts State RACES Plan. Get the Massachusetts State RACES Plan here, or at http://www.qsl.net/n1cpe/racesplan.pdf. The drill will also be held on HF (75 meters likely, 40 meters possible). Stations capable of using packet are encouraged to do so, particularly with lengthy or summary traffic. Refer to the RACES plan for details on frequencies being used.
Every message should begin with the words “THIS IS A DRILL” as part of the text, and [all] other radio communication pertaining to the scenario should [be preceded with] include this qualification as well. If the ham operator is working this drill with the representative of his/her served agency (for example, the local EMA Director), messages should be signed by that representative’s name and title. If the ham operator is working alone, messages should be signed by the title only (no name) of the served agency’s representative.
Examples:
Signed, Jane Doe, EMA Director, Town of Smallville Signed, EMA Director for Smallville
All RACES traffic is addressed to and signed by a government official. The objective of this drill is to exercise the system, provide practice in order to improve emergency readiness (for EMA directors and served agencies as well as hams), and discover opportunities for improvement. Your feedback after the event is welcome. And your participation is deeply appreciated!
STAGE 1
TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members
FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
WHEN: Beginning of exercise (7:00 – 7:15 p.m.)
The National Weather Service in Taunton Massachusetts in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida has issued a Hurricane Warning for all coastal areas of Massachusetts. The National Weather Service in Taunton Massachusetts has issued an Inland High Wind Warning for Hurricane Force Winds for all interior areas of Massachusetts. A Tornado Watch is in effect for the entire state of Massachusetts. A Flash Flood Watch for rivers and streams is also in effect for the entire state of Massachusetts. Hurricane Yolanda is presently located near latitude 40.1 North, longitude 74.0 West, or a little less than 100 miles South-Southwest of Long Island, New York. Hurricane Yolanda is moving toward the North-Northeast at 25 MPH with winds up to 125 MPH, and the present movement is expected to continue for the next several hours with the center passing over Narragansett Bay into Southeast Massachusetts. With the center passing over Southeast Massachusetts, heavy rains of 6-10” with higher amounts are expected with significant river and stream flooding expected across Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts. This includes Berkshire County. The strongest sustained straight-line winds and wind damage with possible structural damage is expected across Eastern Massachusetts with 2-6” of rain expected with locally higher amounts in interior areas. Lower rainfall amounts are expected across the South Coast of Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands but this area has the greatest threat of significant wind damage affecting structures along with a 12-18 foot coastal storm surge across south and east facing beaches. Severe Weather with pockets of wind damage from microbursts, macrobursts and isolated tornadoes is possible anywhere in the state of Massachusetts.
RACES Stations: Now please go to your EOC and report to your MEMA Region Headquarters:
(1) your community
(2) status of your EOC
(3) number of shelters currently open
This message should be formatted in NTS format per the Massachusetts RACES Plan.
ARES Stations: Please report now to your Section Emergency Coordinator or designee. Use an NTS
Format message to report:
(1) your ARES appointment (if any)
(2) what frequency you will monitor during this activation/exercise
(3) what served agency you are supporting (if any)
Training Opportunity: Emergency Managers and Served Agencies should use this time to discuss
their present course of action. Discussions should include reviewing your plans, checklists, and
resources. For ARES groups, this would mean having go-kits prepared for shelter and other public
safety communications.
STAGE 2
TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members
FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
WHEN: Middle of exercise (7:45 – 8:15 p.m.)
The full force of Hurricane Yolanda has hit Massachusetts with winds of 115 to 130 miles per hour with higher gusts. Governor Romney has declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has been fully activated. There are widespread
commercial power and telephone outages. Torrential downpours have caused localized flooding, and coastal flooding will be a serious threat with the approach of high tide. In the central and western parts of the state, funnel clouds have been sighted. Wind damage has downed trees and power lines in pockets across numerous communities in this area. Many downed electrical wires are alive and dangerous. Emergency Management Directors /RACES Stations: You now have the option to pick another local
action or happening to go along with Hurricane Yolanda. This incident may be large or small and may be directly or indirectly related to the hurricane itself. Please pick one of the following:
HAZMAT Spill
Fire
Public safety communication outage needing full ham radio backup
Tornado
River or stream flooding
Coastal storm surge flooding
Microburst or macroburst wind damage
Medical emergency at a shelter
Other (feel free to be creative)
After you decide, notify your MEMA Region Headquarters of the type of emergency/disaster. Use Massachusetts RACES Radiogram format to report the type of event and (if appropriate given the scenario you select) the number of residences affected. Optional: initiate other traffic that might be expected in an actual emergency situation. For example, contact the EMA Director of a neighboring town to request additional shelter supplies.
ARES Stations: Report your personal availability to staff a Shelter for individuals affected by
Hurricane Yolanda or other events that may happen as a result of the storm to your Section
Emergency Coordinator or designee in the form of an NTS Message.
Training Opportunity: Emergency Management Directors should be using this time to combat the
effects of Hurricane Yolanda. The Emergency Management Directors should also be coordinating the
local effects of any other emergency/disaster put into the exercise working with ARES groups as
required.
ARES groups backing up RACES and Emergency Management, supporting SKYWARN efforts, Red
Cross, Salvation Army and other agencies can work based on the scenarios picked and combat the
issues that these specific scenarios would cause. This would include insuring solid radio
communication and being able to communicate shelter needs and issues.
STAGE 3
TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members
FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
WHEN: End of exercise (8:45 – 9:00 p.m.)
The National Weather Service has canceled all warnings and watches. Hurricane Yolanda is no
longer a threat to Massachusetts residents. Recovery missions have already begun in numerous
communities.
RACES Stations: Now please report to your MEMA Region Headquarters in Massachusetts RACES
Radiogram format the following information:
(1) your community
(2) number of homes destroyed
(3) number of homes damaged
(4) any additional status reports as needed.
ARES Stations: Please report to your SEC or DEC in NTS Format:
(1) the name of your served agency, if any
(2) whether it is activated in the aftermath of Hurricane Yolanda
Training Opportunity: Emergency Management Directors and other served agencies should use this
time for recovery discussions. Please stress damage assessment and documentation. Discussion
should highlight Federal/State Disaster Declaration reimbursements.
ARES Groups should report their activity to their local EC, DEC, or SEC where appropriate and
communicate any issues that they had during the event. The report should include what went well
and what went poorly and ways to improve what did not go as expected.
