Ocean County Hams Respond to Superstorm Sandy

 The Ocean County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) went into an Activation status on October 28, 2012 as Hurricane Sandy was approaching the East Coast of the United States. This is an volunteer, non-profit organization of licensed Amateur Radio Operators (Hams) that supplement communications in the Ocean County area during times of emergencies and disasters.

The Ocean County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) contacted ARES Emergency Coordinator, Bob Murdock, Amateur Radio callsign WX2NJ and expressed the desire to have communications centers established at the Red Cross Shelters in Ocean County. This allows the shelters to be able to communicate with National Red Cross representatives at the EOC independent of cell phones, landline telephones and Municipal communications, which may fail at any time during a disaster. Amateur Radio communication systems are owned and operated by licensed individuals who dedicate the use of such systems, in times of emergencies, to augment or supplement commercial communications, as needed.

Amateur Radio transceivers, power supplies and temporary outdoor antenna systems were installed at the Southern Regional High School and the Pine Belt Arena, both which were Red Cross shelters. ARES operators were assigned 12 hour shifts and traveled to the shelters and EOC, to ensure reliable communications. This supplemental communications remained in service for a total of 173 hours until utility power became stable and the EOC was agreeable that Amateur Radio support was no longer required.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service is not unique to Ocean County and exists throughout the United States. It is a field organization of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and provides supplemental communications for forest fires, severe weather reporting, flooding, etc. These type of volunteer activities occur frequently without the general public ever taking notice.

Coordinator Murdock would like to thank all the operators who responded to this event and spent many hours helping others while they themselves were also affected by the storm. Some operators had there own homes flooded and most were also without power, but still stepped forward to volunteer.

You can find out more information about Ocean County ARES at www.wa2res.org