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Typhoon! -- A Lesson in Pacific Island Disaster Relief

With a population of 103,000, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the Pacific is comprised of four states -- Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk and Yap. There are more than 600 islands, spanning 1800 miles from east to west and several hundred miles north to south. On the night of March 31, 2015, super typhoon Maysak struck Ulithi Atoll in Yap State. With winds of more than 160 mph and gusts greater than 210 mph, Maysak was a Category 5 storm. A major storm surge resulted and on most islands, infrastructure including schools, homes, power and communication systems, suffered major damage or were destroyed completely. No fatalities occurred on Ulithi.
I have a home there (on Falalop Island) and my job is to develop computer systems for schools. I also teach technology to the schools' students and train their teachers. I also provide humanitarian services with the help of our local radio club, the Big Island Amateur Radio Club. I was off the island when the typhoon hit, but was ticketed to fly home on April 10 - my mission upon arrival would be disaster relief.
I packed communications equipment, emergency power sources, antennas, tools, spare parts, survival equipment, and enough emergency food for my adopted family of 14 (including ten hungry high school students from Satawal Island) for a period of five weeks. Some of the supplies were shipped to Yap just before I left Hilo, Hawaii, but 11 bags had to be taken on the plane. (Hawaiian Airlines waived all excess baggage fees). There were some customs hang-ups to be dealt with.
My house survived, but power lines were down and the diesel generator power house was partially destroyed. The International Office of Migration (IOM) loaned me two 60 amp/hour batteries and gave me a ride to my home. Richard Darling, AH7G, and Barbara Darling, NH7FY, had provided funding for a Renogy 100 watt suitcase folding solar panel, inverter, battery pack, and toolbox. By morning, I had set up the batteries and solar power systems, and an Icom IC-718 HF transceiver. Fiberglass masts and antennas were erected. I then contacted Richard Darling, AH7G, and William Radolfetheg, V63YWR, as scheduled, with good propagation and signals. We ultimately conducted 35 health-and-welfare phone patches from Falalop, Ulithi, and another 38 patches from Federai back to Hawaii and beyond.
ARRL Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider, AH6J, procured an ARRL HF Go Kit from ARRL HQ to be set up as a secondary station at the dispensary. The kit contained four VHF hand-held radios, which proved useful for local communications.
Falalop Island was devastated, with vegetation gone, including food plants. There was no shade. Our household had only 48 hours' supply of potable water. Much of the water catchment systems on the island were destroyed. In many cases, remaining standing water was contaminated and amoebic dysentery became a problem. The water problem was solved when IOM set up a desalinization plant. Water was then transported to the people by wheelbarrow or by whatever containers could be found. Relief food and supplies started to arrive from Guam.
Many had no houses left and the houses that remained had no roofs. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sent tarps for temporary roofs. Most of the island's HF, SSB and VHF communications were down for an extended period -- there was no power and most of the antennas were destroyed. We got the dispensary's VHF communication systems up and running again with emergency repairs on its antenna.
Insult to Injury
On Monday, May 4, tropical storm Noul hit us, and the next morning it hit the rest of Yap as a full category 1 typhoon. Our 20-meter vertical was blown almost horizontal, but continued to hang in there. During this storm, we remained in communication with Darling, Radolfetheg, and Ray Gibson, KH2GUM on Guam. Granola bars were the food of the day. Between 8 pm and 10 pm that night our dining hut with my antenna still attached finally blew away. The next day, after the storm had blown by, we gathered all of the pieces of the hut and rebuilt it. The vertical antenna and mast had survived but the radials had broken. After more work, everything was repaired and we were back up on the air. Unfortunately, all of the USAID tarps on the roofs had blown down so we were back to square one with no roofs to protect many of us. A week later, typhoon Dolphin came along, but thankfully it missed us on Ulithi by a few hundred miles. It did hit Guam.
I was then tasked by the Yap State Department of Education to assist in rebuilding and restarting the schools that had been destroyed. All of these buildings were constructed with concrete!
The Value of Amateur Radio
There were two amateurs on Federai Island: William Radolfetheg, V63YWR and Albert Haped, V63YAH. Richard Darling, AH7G, Ray Gibson, KH2GUM, and I were in communications with Federai every evening as the storm approached. We remained in communications until four hours before the storm made landfall. As a result, the Federai community took our warnings very seriously and was well prepared: Roofs were tied down with large ropes, school computers were stored in the new dispensary, and families with children were sheltered in the dispensary building. While Federai also had a lot of storm damage, they fared much better than the other islands. The point is that Amateur Radio communications can be even more valuable in advance of and leading into a disaster like this where there is time for preparations to be made. Amateur Radio communications in remote locales like this is more effective and efficient than all other communication systems -- both before and after the onset of the effects of the disaster. The health-and-welfare phone patches alone were of great humanitarian value.
A technical note on antennas: the elevated ground plane antenna with resonant radials performs very well. It's an inexpensive, effective, efficient antenna, easy to transport, and easy to assemble. It is more resilient than other antennas.
See the V63JB page on QRZ.com for photos and more information on typhoon responses. -- John Bush, KH6DLK/V63JB; and Bob Schneider, AH6J, ARRL Pacific Section Manager [Bush is the 2012 ARRL International Humanitarian Award winner - ed.]
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Amateur Radio Club Helps Promote Diabetes Awareness

Members of the University of Mississippi Amateur Radio Club (UMARC) provided on-course communications for the annual Walk For Diabetes held in Oxford on Sunday, November 8. The walk, sponsored by the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, began at the Lyceum Loop on the university campus and continued to the downtown area before returning to the Lyceum.
UMARC members took up positions at rest stops and key junctions, calling in status reports on the progress of the more than 150 walkers via the club repeater located on the campus.
The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi conducts these and similar events to raise awareness of diabetes and raise financial support in helping them provide care for Mississippians who have diabetes.
Sarah Abraham, Program Coordinator, made the request to UMARC for supporting the event. A number of walkers assembled in groups, each distinguished by colorful tee shirts showing their support for a loved one who has diabetes. All who finished the walk received a medal to wear and most got a tee shirt promoting diabetes awareness.
Located on the university grounds, UMARC operates with station call sign W5UMS. Members provide similar coverage for other local events such as the annual Double-Decker Fun Run and anticipate a continued partnership with the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. -- Ron Lefebvre, W1IBL, President, University of Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Veterans' Day Month: HDSCS Loses One of Its Own

On November 6, the ARES-affiliated Hospital Disaster Support Communications System, Orange County, California, lost member Roman Kamienski, KG6QMZ, a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves and active Army MARS operator. He was remembered in a military memorial service complete with flag presentation to his wife and a 21 gun salute. Only 56, he died of complications from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. During Roman's 12 years with HDSCS he participated in almost every major drill. He also communicated in some actual emergencies, including a 2004 phone failure caused by a power interruption at an Anaheim Hospital. In 2005 he was on site for a standby operation during phone work at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton, which then turned into an all-night emergency when the system did not come back on line. In addition to a display of his military certificates and medals, including the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf cluster for distinguished achievement presented in 2007, Roman's wife added his HDSCS blue vest, name badge, certificates related to HDSCS service and an HDSCS commemorative challenge coin numbered 73. We were honored to have had him in HDSCS as a communicator and antenna team member. - April Moell, WA6OPS, District Emergency Coordinator, Amateur Radio Emergency Service; Hospital Disaster Support Communications System, Orange County, Cailfornia


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