From: "Bob Brock" on Mon, Jan 29 2007 12:18 am

wrote in message
From: "Bob Brock" on Sat, 27 Jan 2007 09:12:18

It's been my life experience that MOST citizens will
voluntarily help out others in REAL emergencies, whether
or not they know how to operate a radio. Having been
IN a couple of REAL emergencies locally, I have yet to
experience first-hand any flurry of amateur activity to
"aid organizations who cannot communicate directly via
radio." During one of those REAL emergencies I've found
that the existing organizations were quite adequately
prepared...and drilled and trained on emergencies WITH
their equipment and worked-out emergency plans that
weren't public-relations news releases.

Back in 1999, I spent a week or so coordinating commumications between E-Com
(AKA 911) the National Guard, and the American Red Cross taking people to
shelters during an ice storm and major power outage. Nothing has upgraded
around here since then to allow the different agencies to communicate if
cell phones went out, so I'd be ready to do it again. Not all of us live in
the big cities and based on what I've seen critiqued, they aren't much
better than those of us out in the sticks when it comes to interagency
communications.

Yes, I can understand that "the sticks" (as you say) don't
have all the communications facilities. However, we can't
neglect the fact that so much of the USA population lives
in urban areas.

In my life experience, as I wrote, I've also been in
emergencies. Further, since I live in a "sunbelt" area,
we don't have ice storms and, usually, electric power
here is a reliable thing. But, I spent the first 19
years of my life IN a northern Illinois city that DID
experience ice storms, regular winter snowfall, etc.,
and the electric power was not always reliable. No, I
wasn't involved in radio comms then.

My urban area has a LARGE population. On January 17, 1994,
we all experienced a sizeable earthquake here. It killed
58 people. It left thousands temporarily homeless,
hundreds requiring medical aid for injuries. The ENTIRE
population (roughly 8 million) was without ANY electric
power for half a day, a few areas (physically damaged)
without for 3 days. My point was not a "can you top this"
thing but to point out that the public safety and utility
infrastructure had ALREADY prepared for this sort of thing
and acted as they had planned and trained for when
disaster struck. At that time the centralized emergency
communications network was new, involving dozens of
neighboring government public safety organizations. It
received a "trial by fire" test and passed it. Now I don't
claim (or "boast") that it is best, only that it WORKS.
Intelligent advanced planning and continuing training
WORKS.

Let's see. Others have complained that "the sticks" don't
have lots of money to do such things. No doubt true. But
the Greater Los Angeles area doesn't have "lots of money"
either. TAXES pay for nearly all. If there are 8 million
taxpayers, then the amount becomes large. In the case of
the LA emergency communications network, the local public
safety organizations ALREADY HAD the major part of the
communications equipment. So did the utility companies.
The thing needed was some way to tie them all together,
ORGANIZE, PLAN AHEAD, and KEEP TRAINING in the different
possible scenarios.

Out here there's lots of nature lovers who grouse and
grumble about our "concrete rivers." Flood control
channels, numerous in the 1.5 million population San
Fernando Valley. What most of them don't realize is that
the normally quiet, peaceful rivers and streams have
become raging torrents during heavy rainfall and flash
flooding. There's a few old, old motion pictures still
around that recorded one of the old floods. It used to
KILL people and render a lot of "the Valley" impossible
to settle for cities. Some good thinking, PLANNING AHEAD,
help from the WPA following the Great Depression enabled
the flood control channels to be built and make the place
safe from flood destruction. Yeah, "the sticks" couldn't
afford that, either...the federal government had to help
out. [need I mention the TVA?] But, we wound up with
no terrible destructive flash flooding as had been
nature's norm in past centuries. Mama Nature goes on a
big bender every once in a while, everywhere. We can't
stop that, only divert some of it.

The key is not necessarily money, just to ORGANIZE, PLAN
AHEAD, and KEEP TRAINING for any area, large, small, or
in-between, using resources at hand. More resources is a
different problem...politics of money disbursement is
something to handle at the local level.

ORGANIZE, PLAN AHEAD, TRAIN and keep on TRAINING.
It works. For professionals and amateurs alike. Press
releases won't do it.