Amateur Radio in Disaster Relief - New Zealand

[PhilH]

Amateur Radio in Disaster Relief - New Zealand

As I write this post I am aware that it may get some mixed reactions, but its main intent is to get some ideas and advice on how to tackle a problem I am having here in New Zealand. Just to make things easier going forward let me list some comparative organisations and classes of radio in the NZ and the equivalent in the States.

NZART (https://www.nzart.org.nz) = ARRL

AREC (https://arec.nz) = ARES

CDEM (https://www.civildefence.govt.nz) = FEMA

PRS - Personal Radio Service (https://www.rsm.govt.nz/licensing/d…n-band-cbpersonal-radio-service-prs-licensing) = CB, MURS, GMRS, FRS

In NZ we have another recently formed organisation, HFRadio.NZ (https://hfradio.nz) and more relevant to this discussion

Alpine Fault Net (Alpine Fault Net® | Disaster Relief Communications) which is an integral part of the HF Radio Charitable Trust. I am not sure if there is an equivalence in North America.

Amateur Radio plays an important part here in NZ in emergency events, but not so much in Major Disaster response and recovery, though this is changing. Let me explain.

AREC.

This organisation has been in existence in one form or another since the Napier Earthquakes in 1931. It is now part of and effectively owned by NZART, the national body representing amateur radio operators in NZ, much like ARRL and ARES in the US. Also very much like ARRL, NZART receives funding for AREC and quite strongly defends this territory of Amateur Radio in Emergency situations here in NZ. Now, for the record AREC, from all accounts, do a very good job in areas that they are called to assist in. They are primarily called to assist the Police or Search and Rescue to handle the comms for search and rescue events but they also make themselves available to Civil Defence in any situation that they might be called for. They also have a presence at times at community events providing comms. AREC is made up of 47 groups and 375 members spread across New Zealand. They have a reasonably strong management structure with fulltime and parttime paid positions.

HF Radio Charitable Trust, and more importantly the Alpine Fault Net.

This, as I understand it, has been entirely the work of one man, Peter Mott (ZL3PWM). He has come up with the concept of the Alpine Fault Net, has done all the work to bring it to fruition and has raised all the funding for it. Its management structure, as Peter puts it, is a “Committee of One”, and that is Peter. The Alpine Fault Net has only been on the air since December 2023. There are now 48 members, or volunteer Ammateur Radio Operators participating in its monthly roll call each month. It is definitely the new kid on the block and is still growing and taking shape.

The Net has been established by Peter primarily, but not exclusively, to assist in the event of the rupturing of a large fault in the Southern Alps of New Zealand which runs between the constantly moving Australian and Pacific plates. It is known as the AF8 and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. This fault has ruptured much like clockwork at approximately 300 year intervals for the last 8000 years. It is 330 years since the last rupture. This rupture has a predicted 75% chance of happening in the next 50 years and the reality is that it is expected sooner rather than later. The quakes resulting from these ruptures have always been of a magnitude 8 or greater. The next rupture will likely affect most of the South Island of New Zealand and at its epicentre will probably cause damage to a level rarely, if ever, experienced in any part of the civilised world. Most of the South Island will be cast into darkness; that is there will be a total grid down event. There will likely be no electricity, cell phone, land mobile communication, water or sewerage. Further, roading infrastructure will be disrupted by rupturing of the road surface, slips, bridges down, rivers changing course. All man made structures will be severely damaged if not completely flattened. The only communication services that will still exist will be any satellite connected services that can still be powered up and any radio transceivers that can communicate without the need of repeaters. Handheld PRS radios and HF Radio will come into their own and will be the only means of communication that can be relied upon.

CDEM have held community meetings in the areas where the AF8 is likely to take its greatest toll and have informed residents that they need to be prepared to be entirely on their own for 3 weeks or more. Help will not be coming. While the CDEM have a thin presence of Response Teams in some of these areas, they too will be isolated in that they will have no means of communication back to their guiding management structure. What little comms they are provided with are either local simplex handhelds or land based mobile, which will be down. While I am sure these teams will do the very best they can, they will be without direction and like the community they are in, without any external support.

The affected communities and any agency within that community - Police, Fire, Civil Defence - will quite likely be solely dependent on any persons or organisations that have access to and can operate a HF radio, to communicate with the outside world.

The only organisations that are currently preparing to provide these services in New Zealand in such an event are AREC and the Alpine Fault Net. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Now the following images are in no way casting judgement on the way either AREC or Alpine Fault Net operate but more to show the very different ways they have prepared their organisations to respond to a disaster.

First AREC.

They have the numbers and are very structured, well funded and organised. They use supplied equipment. They rely on their own internal infrastructure. They respond and operate at the direction of Police, Search and Rescue, CDEM or their own Management Line of Command. They are not autonomous. They are concentrated in larger communities and not necessarily at the epicentre of the disaster. If they need to be at the epicentre of the disaster they first have to wait until one of their directing agencies either gets there first or directs them to proceed there if they can. It could be days or even weeks before any of these agencies or AREC actually reach the areas where they are needed the most. AREC’s understanding of the situation at the epicentre of the disaster will in most parts come from the agency directing them. Their responses or actions will be at the direction of their controlling agency.

In stark contrast, Alpine Fault Net.

Small numbers and self funded. The operators live in the community they serve. They know when to activate as they will experience first hand the disaster when it strikes. If they don’t live in the immediately affected area, as they become aware of the disaster they will activate in support of the Net and may well stay at their QTH if it is still operational. Operators in the affected areas will set up their field station with their own equipment at a point where the community will assemble, in the case above, the local school. They will be quick to mobilise as they are in most instances within walking distance of the Community Center where they will operate. Often they will have activated within a few hours or less of the disaster event, after seeing to their own immediate families needs. They are autonomous and will pass on any messaging to other parts of the Net asked of them by the community. The operator will cooperate fully with Police, Emergency Service or State Agency, if they are present, but can not be commandeered, co-opted or made operate solely for any agency. The priority of their requests will be weighed up against the priority of the needs of any member of the community. Alpine Fault Net operators are Licensed Radio Amateurs with a desire and dedication to serve their own community in which they live, during times of disaster.

Now just to make it clear, the above is entirely my own opinion, but it is how I currently see it. I do not belong or have any direct association with AREC - I am only an observer on the side - and if I have misreported any facts about AREC and this can be clearly shown to me I will accept the correction and endeavour to correct it.

If you are still reading this far, thank you for your patience. And now I come to the part where I seek advice and suggestions.

For Alpine Fault Net operators to be truly effective they need a means of collecting information from the community about the status and immediate needs of the community. Where is the point of having an HF connection to the outside world if there is no information to pass out of or back into the community. The most effective way of achieving this is to encourage and engender the setting up of Community Emergency Radio Networks (CERN’s). This is getting the community to purchase, learn to use in a structured manner, and use PRS handhelds on a NET in a time of disaster or emergency. This way the community can collect information from its own members and pass any messages to the Alpine Fault Net operator that need to be passed out of the local area.

Now this is the real test of a Licensed Amateur Radio operator’s resolve to really be of service to their community in an emergency through use of their acquired skills of all things radio. I feel that many hams have a vision of being the hero in an emergency by donning their bright coloured jackets and with a microphone in hand passing on vital messages to emergency services. But are they the real hero’s or is it the ham operators who use their skills and knowledge to help a community to empower themselves by showing them the way to communicate simply and effectively with PRS handhelds? Any community knows best how to meet their own needs and help each other. The real Radio heroes are those hams that assist that community in doing this in the most efficient and effective way with PRS radio.

Radio is radio, be it HF, VHF, UHF, FRS, MURS, CB, GMRS or PRS. I was recently at a meeting of hams demonstrating a suitable PRS handheld for community use when one of the older hams said, “I didn’t think any ham worth his salt would have anything to do with PRS”. And if that is your stance I simply ask….please, get over yourself and your self importance. If you are sincere about helping your community in an emergency using radio, sharing your knowledge and skills to empower your community is possibly the most effective and useful way you can do it. You can always put on your orange jacket and pick up a microphone afterwards.

And finally for my question. I am seeking advice, and guidance, more so if it has come from your own personal experiences, in encouraging and guiding communities to set up Community Emergency Radio Networks.

HF Radio Charitable Trust has its hands full setting up and expanding its net of operators to man the Alpine Fault Net. But the net is the backend of the solution providing contact with the outside world. At the sharp end is the community collecting information about each other and their needs and in the first instance tending to those in need. And then, and only then, passing all relevant information or welfare messages onto the Alpine Fault Net operator for further communication to emergency and government agencies or family outside of the disaster epicentre.

I have taken it upon myself to try and start the ball rolling and encourage communities here in NZ to create CERN’s within their communities. So far my attempts have been met by deafening apathy from the community and pious indignation from many, but not all hams, that I should try and sully their hallowed hobby by trying to get hams to have any association with “CB”.

My searching and reading forums have brought me to the conclusion that American hams in general appear to be more accepting of radio in operations other than just the amateur bands. I also see that North America, more so than other countries, is ahead in the formation and acceptance of CERN’s. I read where they are used to good effect in communities prone to flooding and wildfires. I see where they are being used just for good security and connecting with others in various communities. I believe there is a great collection of knowledge and skills that American hams have that they could share with NZ hams to engender and encourage CERN’s in NZ.

Any help, advice or guidance will be truly appreciated.

And an absolute final note: The sole purpose of this post is to try and solicit help and advice in promoting Community, Emergency Radio Networks by drawing on the wealth of skills and experience that is held by licensed Amateur Radio Operators world wide. It is in no way intended to disparage the good work already being done by hams and organisations already operating in this space. Please respect that and these people.

Cheers

Phil ZL3CC (ZL2VTH)