MARHALL COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS TO PARTICIPATE IN A DISTRICT WIDE COMMUNICATIONS EXERCISE - WTCA

2022-09-24 01:45:59 By : Mr. Jack L

Amateur radio operators from Indiana District 2’s emergency communications teams will hold a Simulated Emergency Training (SET) exercise called “Operation Rainfall 22A,” on Saturday, October 1, 2022.

This exercise is based on a simulated district wide weather-related supercell generating unprecedented heavy rainfall; flooding along the St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Yellow Rivers in District 2, in addition to numerous lightning strikes, damaging infrastructure in several D2 counties. Such events may strike with little or no notice. The slogan we all see, “When all else fails, ham radio,” would truly pickup its real meaning with a full communications infrastructure outage.

Operation Rainfall 22A will allow teams from various counties in District 2 to test their ability to communicate with the other local Districts and Marshall County Emergency Management Agency, and Indiana Homeland Security using only amateur radio equipment. In addition, individual amateur radio operators will assist in gathering health and welfare and operational messages and provide them to the State using various voice and digital methods. The Team will test their capability to provide health and welfare messaging for residents. This is a long-standing tradition allowing a resident to relay a message such as, “I’m ok,” to their friends or family outside of the impacted area using a national traffic system.

This exercise will encompass radio communications teams from services such as the ARRL’s ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service), Marshall County Emergency Management Agency.

This exercise will run from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT on Oct 1, 2022, at the Marshall County Emergency Operation Center (EOC).

For further information or to be present as an observer, please contact Ruth Dilts (ARRL Public Information Officer)