After weeks of deployment, the Philippines Amateur Radio Association(PARA http://www.para.org.ph/) HERO (Ham Emergency Radio Operations)Network stood down November 27, although some activity continues duringthe disaster cleanup. PARA Vice Chief Operating Officer Ramon Anquilan,DU1UGZ, said that four stations -- DU1IVT, DU1VHY, DV1SMQ, and DU1EQ --remain in operation to monitor for any assistance from local HEROstations. Much remains to be done in the devastating aftermath ofTyphoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which injured more than 26,000 people,displaced some four million residents, destroyed 1.2 million houses,and wreaked extensive damage and destruction to agriculture and to thePhilippine infrastructure.

Anquilan said that while PARA and its HERO Network stations realizethat rescue and relief agencies now are handling the bulk of vitalemergency communication traffic, his organization still has plenty todo. He said this includes accurately documenting what the HERO Networkwas able to accomplish, gaining visibility by authorities andcommunities, and furthering HERO's role in disaster preparedness. Hesaid authorities already are taking greater notice of HERO, and PARAwants to make sure its role is not forgotten within the enormity of thedisaster.

In the hard-hit Tacloban area and the rest of Eastern Visayas, anACCESS-5 Amateur Radio team continues to be embedded with the CommandPost National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council inTacloban City. Three operators are on duty there. ACCESS-5 Tacloban isnow augmented by some 35 ACCESS-5 members from Catbalogan, Samar, andBurauen, Leyte. PARA Secretary-General Butch Pacana, DU1RP, drove fromDavao City to visit HERO stations in Borongan, Eastern Samar andTacloban City. While in Borongan, he served as courier for thesituation report from Eastern Samar to Tacloban City -- the firstofficial situation report from Eastern Samar. This helped provincialofficials find a suitable means of transport to Tacloban. He reportedthat HERO operators were coping well and up to the task. Don BoscoTechnical College (DX1DBT) officials maintain their HF link betweenBorongan, Eastern Samar, Cebu and Mandaluyong in metropolitan Manila.

In the Central Visayas, Iver Astronomo, DV6ILA, is still active fromthe Capiz Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council inRoxas City. The DV6ILA signal got a big boost through the donation ofan HF transceiver by Bing Rodriguez, DU6RCR, and a microphone loaned byBob Garcia, DU6BG. Arnel, DV6WAV, reports that power is back on at theCapiz State University where he's a professor, and that he hasactivated another VHF/HF station. The HERO station DV6ILA and DW6WAVwere staffing in Roxas City earlier got a surprise visit from thebureau chief of the UN Office for the Coordination of HumanitarianAffairs (UN OCHA http://www.unocha.org/), Fernando Arroyo EA4BB, who"had a few short QSOs on the spot." Arroyo later appointed DV6WAV tohead his convoy team to meet international aid volunteers at theairport. Other HERO stations also remain active, occasionally reportingon their activities and providing progress updates on the restorationof services.

Anquilan said that PARA now has a permit to import equipment, and itsBoard will meet on its placement and use. He acknowledged donations byPatrick Prescott, KC1AJT, who sent an HF transceiver, and StanleyJungleib, WA6LVC, who sent an antenna tuner.

Media Hits

On November 17, Anquilan appeared on both the BBC World Service radioand National Public Radio, in interviews arranged with ARRL assistance."We are just hobbyists, and we are converted into this public servicerole when there are emergencies," he told the BBC, calling publicservice work on ham radio "uplifting and fulfilling."

Anquilan told http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=245749083 NPR'sRachel Martin on "Weekend Edition Sunday" that the Secretary Defensewas one of the first people to use the Amateur Radio link set up inTacloban. He explained that the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaryof the Interior had been dispatched to Tacloban before the storm, andafter the hurricane hit, the central government in Manila did not knowtheir whereabouts. "Even the president could not contact his cabinet onthe ground in Tacloban," Anquilan said. "So, one of the first messagesfor us to relay was the message of the Secretary Defense."

Anquilan and Nathan Eamiguel, DU5AOK, were featured in radio interviewson November 23. "The program's host, Francis 'Kiko' Flores, welcomedthe participation of Amateur Radio in the emergency," Anquilan said."He recalled his own experiences in the 1991 Baguio earthquake, wherehe personally experienced the usefulness of Amateur Radio emergencycommunications." -- Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 DisasterCommunications Committee

Source:

The ARRL Letter