Amateur radio emergency communications
Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can quickly establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance interoperability.
In 2017, the Red Cross requested 50 amateur radio operators be dispatched to Puerto Rico to provide communications services in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
On December 26, 2004, an earthquake and resulting tsunami across the Indian Ocean wiped out all communications with the Andaman Islands, except for a DX-pedition that provided a means to coordinate relief efforts.
[2] Recently, amateur radio operators in the People's Republic of China provided emergency communications after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake[3] and U.S. hams did similar work following Hurricane Ike.
[4] Amateur radio operators provided communications in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing when cellphone systems became overloaded.
More than a thousand ham operators from all over the U.S. converged on the Gulf Coast in an effort to provide emergency communications assistance.
In Australia, the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network operates in each state & territory as an autonomous body under the relevant disaster plan.
As in the United States, Radio Amateurs of Canada has memoranda of understanding with numerous agencies expected to receive services[2], including the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army.
It operates daily the national emergency network (Red Chilena NorAustral de Servicios, RECNA) in HF, and locally in VHF-UHF.
DARES is recognized by the State Department of The Netherlands and supported by the two largest national radio amateur organisations: VERON and VRZA.
[8] Radio clubs independent of the ARRL and ARES also participate in emergency communications activities in some areas, and some non-radio organizations have their own amateur arm.
The ARRL also is a member of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) and conducts emergency communications certification courses for interested Amateur Radio operators.
