RRI Tropical Storm Net and Supplement to Initial Guidance Bulletin
Post date: Sep 8, 2017 8:26:10 PM
8 September 2017
(081454Z SEP 2017)
BULLETIN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Please distribute to all EMCOMM organizations
Radio Relay International Tropical Storm Net and Update
- Supplement to Initial Guidance Bulletin 071755Z Sep 2017 -
Please see initial guidance bulletin referenced above for full background. It is available at: www.radio-relay.org and www.facebook.com/radiorelayinternational
Radio Relay International volunteers are encouraged to review the RRI Tropical Storm Net Standard Operating Guidelines available at: www.tropicalstormnet.org These guidelines are designed to promote a natural and seamless transition between three overlapping phases of emergency communications response:
1. The origination of weather data activates the network structure and mobilizes operators.
2. The above activity stages the network infrastructure to transition into the collection and origination of situational awareness reports, which are beneficial to served agencies looking for “ground-truth” information.
3. The network infrastructure can then transition into the routing of both operational and welfare traffic in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
Report types:
Generally, two types of TSN reports are encouraged. These are:
1. The weather data report containing any one, or all, of the following:
a. Total storm precipitation
b. Sustained wind speed at time of report/maximum gust during past hour. Indicate “estimated” if not measured.
c. Barometric pressure (ensure instrument is calibrated).
2. Situational Awareness Reports including:
a. Significant damage to infrastructure (example: roads/highways washed out or blocked, bridges damaged, widespread power or telecommunications infrastructure outages, etc.)
b. Significant disruption of critical services (example: damage to hospitals, government facilities, etc.)
c. Other information of significant value to local, state and Federal emergency management.
d. Ideally, reports will be verifiable from either first-hand observation or from a reliable source.
Please use a “priority” precedence for both weather observations and situational awareness (SITREP) traffic.
WX Observations should be addressed to the NWS CWA in which the observation is made and C/O RRI IATN. For example:
NWS MFL
C/O RRI IATN
The National Weather Service Code can be determined by examining your local National Weather Service web page. It is usually a component in the local NWS office URL. For example; “NWS MFL” is the code for the Miami Florida National Weather Service CWA.
Situational Awareness Reports should be addressed to:
RRI IATN
Note: “RRI IATN” is an abbreviation for “Radio Relay International Inter-Area Traffic Network
Originating a report:
A report may be originated via any RRI or associated traffic net that is active in the disaster response. If possible, it is recommended that you share your report with the local EMCOMM organization in your areas as well (ARES®, RACES, AUXCOMM). In the absence of a local/state traffic net, one may directly access the IATN CW circuits operating on the QSX frequencies of 14115 and 7115 kHz (see guidance bulletin). A typical call would be:
RRI RRI de K8QMN QTC 1 P SITREP or RRI RRI de K8QMN QTC 1 P WX
Routing TSN and SITREP Traffic:
Weather observation traffic may be routed to the Hurricane Watch Net or consolidated and delivered directly to National Weather Service.
RRI IATN operators may route any situational awareness reports to Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) stations or may contact any one of the FEMA Regional stations operating on 60-meters. More details on procedures for routing traffic to FEMA will be provided directly to RRI IATN operators.
Official Requests for Support or Activation:
Radio Relay International networks are available to support local and statewide operations in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma. In keeping with our standard policy, any net manager or emergency communications program manager (EC, RO, etc.) may request activation of Radio Relay International networks to support statewide, regional or national communications functions. During this operation, the primary and secondary points of contact for activation are, respectively:
Jeff Miller (WB8WKQ)
Eastern Area Coordinator
5763 Lake George Rd.
Dryden, MI. 48428
James Wades (WB8SIW)
National Emergency Communications Coordinator
810 Skyline Dr.
Marion, IL. 62959
269-650-0215
All that is necessary is to get a message to either the primary and secondary contact to arrange support operations. The Radio Relay International Digital Traffic Network (DTN) remains available 24 hours a day for emergency communications support. Likewise, watch frequencies can be assigned for voice or CW operation based on our National Emergency Communications Response Plan.
END