Hams assisting in Iowa disasters
Flooding and massive tornado devastation here in Iowa has made life here quite challenging for many. The sunny skies today are a welcome sight to those building levees, clearing debris, pumping water out of basements and trying to restore some sense of normalcy.
The Iowa EOC amateur radio station has been on the air on several bands working around the clock to relay messages. Red Cross and local authorities have mentioned ham radio to the press multiple times in the past few weeks - spotting storms, relaying messages between evacuation shelters and agencies.
Our family has had to deal with water in the basement which is certainly a pain. However, we are not going to complain given the many in our great state who have lost homes, cars, businesses and in some cases loved ones.
The Iowa response to this crisis has been remarkable. Government agencies, volunteer agencies (including ham radio) and residents have been extremely cooperative. As soon as a call for help goes out on TV, Iowan respond quickly and generously. Requests for sandbaggers result in scores of volunteers - in some cases they’ve had over 1,000 arrive - more than they could manage.
I spent last Saturday helping with the cleanup in Parkersburg, Iowa - site of a EF-5 tornado (the largest on the Fugita scale).
It will take a long time for Iowa to recover from these storms - but those who know Iowans know that we will pull together, give our neighbors our shirts off our backs and do what it takes to restore the state we know and love.