Last Link - When disaster strikes, amateur radio operators keep the connection

By KATHY GRAY

of The Dalles Chronicle

Hugh Flint fires off a rapid explanation of what he does, pointing to equipment and using lingo like "packet data" and "terminal nodes" and "repeaters," while quietly leaving out the most important point: What he does may someday help save your life.

Flint heads the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service section for Wasco County, which helps with communication during emergency events. When a massive storm recently overwhelmed western Oregon with wind and water, downing phone lines and limiting cell coverage, people like Flint provided vital links within and outside the ravaged regions.

Amateur radio operators were heralded by state emergency officials as heroes, who set up networks for government and emergency officials to communicate when other system failed.

A network of at least 60 voluneer amateur radio operators working along the coast and inland helped keep crucial systems such as 9-1-1, American Red Cross and hospital services connected. They relayed information about patient care and lists of supplies needed in areas cut off by water.

Ham radio operators also kept New York City agencies in touch with each other after their command center was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the National Association for Amateur radio. And when hurricanes like Katrina hit, amateur radio operators helped provide fire-and-death community services when everything else failed.

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