ARES team safe after tyhoon disaster scare

Welfare concerns about a Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL) emergency communications group have been allayed, with the latest report that the team has made it safe to dry ground.

The ARES members Ted Yu BV2OO, Solo Chen BM5ABU and K.L. Wu BM6AHR and two doctors and four nurses flew by helicopter into amid rough turbulent weather to reach Chin-Ho (part of the Tau-Yuan Zone, Kao-Hsiong City) that was surrounded by flood waters. They are providing support to the rescue and relief effort in response to the Typhoon Morakot disaster that has an expected death toll of several hundred with thousands more are homeless in what are the worst floods in Taiwan in 50 years.

Quickly setting up the ham radio station equipment the ARES team began using the 40m band, with their situation report communications helping the rescue and recovery operation. A report by the IARU CTARL Liaison Officer, Ralph Yang BV2FB said the radio traffic included details of needed medicine, fresh water and food supplies.

The ARES team had to flee for their own safety when a lake broke its banks and threatened to inundate where they had set up. They made it to a cabbage field where they slept before resuming their emergency communications efforts to tell everyone they were 'alive and kicking'. ARES was last known to be using 7.080MHz.

Also assisting in the emergency communications effort, from their stations on dry land are BX2AN in Taipei, BV6GQ BV7GC, BV7BU from Kau-Siung and BX4AA from Tai-Chung. In other support, BX2AL has been organising resources and supplies for the Taipei base station (above), BG7MTJ from Sen-Zen China and BG4ABO in Shan-Hai China. The disaster recovery is continuing with many villages in mountain areas buried under metres of rock and mud.

(Ralph Yang BV2FB CTARL IARU Liaison and Jim Linton VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Commmittee)

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