Disaster Relief Realities in Mississippi

Disaster Relief Realities in Mississippi

"Disaster Relief Realities in Mississippi
Pablo Veal (N0AH) on September 16, 2005

I have been in Mississippi since September 5th as an ARRL member and volunteer for the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

There has been next to none health and welfare trafficking on the HF bands.
Most of our work here in Hattiesburg, MS, 80 miles north of the coast, has been feeding the poor and hungry. Katrina was a Category 2 Hurricane when it hit here with 120 MPH winds. Most signs, trees, and infrastructure here and in the area are significantly damaged or destroyed.
We use our radios to work with the emergency response vehicles (ERVs) to stay in contact with the kitchen where our net control is located.

We go out in these trucks that look like an ambulance on steroids, and serve food. We look for people who need medication and those without clean water etc....
The children are the hardest part of this job. There are a lot of biting bugs and some kids coming in for a meal are pasted with bites. Most communities are filled with fallen trees and extensive damage.

They are just now getting power back to a limited degree. "

73 fer nw,
Bob N5IET

(old calls KE5CTY - WB5ZQU - WY5L)
10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.qsl.net/ke5cty/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.