When emergencies hit, amateur radio can get through

By ERIC RITTER
Correspondent

DELAND -- Thousands of lives were disrupted in the wake of 2004's Hurricane Frances as people sought food, cleared debris, repaired homes and checked on family and friends. Without power, almost all communication was disrupted.

When a Michigan amateur radio operator broadcast a call for help in finding his daughter who he hadn't heard from since the storm, his call was picked up by David Sutherland, a DeLand amateur radio operator monitoring his generator-powered radio.

Less than an hour later, after Sutherland had driven to the daughter's home, delivered her father's message and she had called her worried dad, the Michigan man radioed Sutherland to thank him.

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