Radio amateurs get ready for disaster

Members of the local Bayouland Emergency Amateur Radio Service, or BEARS, joined other ham radio operators across the country Saturday in participating in the annual ham radio field day.
The event, which the BEARS members participated in continuously from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday, is both a way for the group to communicate with others as well as test its equipment in case it is needed during a disaster where other forms of communication are lost in the area.
BEARS President Jackie Price said that through the testing, the group has determined that its equipment is in excellent shape.
She said as soon as winds dissipate after inclement weather, ham radio operators can begin using a frequency.
BEARS member Tommy Wells of Centerville said that using ham radios in an emergency can save lives.
When things get tough, “cell phones aren’t going to work, the 700 megahertz system that 911 uses is not going to work and when the electricity is out, my radio will work,” Wells said Saturday.
Ham radio’s importance has been put on display more than once as it was the initial source of communication after Super Storm Sandy and was used after a recent earthquake in Nepal, BEARS members said.
“When Sandy came and hit the East Coast, it was a total blackout for the East Coast,” BEARS member Carl Bundy of Houma said. “Those poor people didn’t understand like we understand about hurricanes. It’s no big deal for us, but they had no internet, no power, no telephone … but the amateur radio operators all the way up the East Coast (were) on the air providing emergency communications.”
East Coast operators could get communication to and from towns and to the state levels easily.
While internet towers and radios didn’t work, Bundy said the amateur radio operators could get on the air in minutes.
Bundy said if not for ham radio operators, “it would have been a vacuum of nothing for those people.”
Bundy, a ham radio operator for five years but involved with radio for “quite some time,” said while they have fun communicating with others, too, BEARS’ main goal is to provide emergency communication, if necessary.
In the event of an evacuation of St. Mary Parish and other forms of communication are down, ham radio operators — in coordination with the Salvation Army — will be able to provide communications about the status of Morgan City to those still far away.
If the situation arises, Price said that those wishing to find out information should visit the Salvation Army’s website at www.satern.org and fill out a form that includes a comment section where people can write down what information they would like to know about their home towns after a disaster.
They also need to include the following information: Radio Call — W5BMC; IRLP Node 3670 and Echolink W5BMC-R Node 507010.
Using that information, the Salvation Army will contact BEARS via ham radio and get answers for those away from Morgan City before turning around and contacting those requesting the information via contact info they gave on the form.
“I know the way stuff is today that seems, ‘Oh, man, that is old timey,’ but if old timey works and nothing else does, that’s why we’re here,” Price said.
For those who stay in town, they could stop by the BEARS’ headquarters at the old Whitney Bank Building at 201 Everett St. in Morgan City or call them at 985-702-9889 or 985-395-9648 or via cell phone at 985-397-3447 or 985-255-9332 for information.
Cards with all of this evacuation and contact information will be available at locations through the area including The Frame Shop, Tiger Island Hardware, Shannon Hardware, Walmart and The Daily Review.
For anyone interested in joining BEARS, contact Price at The Frame Shop at 985-385-0730 or come to one of the group’s club meetings, held on the second Wednesday of each month.

This story was written by Goeff Stoute of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at gstoute@daily-review.com.