Community Corner
Creating the Neighborhood Ham Watch
There is a 75 percent chance that a major earthquake will hit Northern California in the next three decades. The question is "Are we ready?" One group says that when landline and wireless devices are not functioning, ham radios can come to the rescue.
Imagine this scenario. An earthquake has just downed telephone lines and cell phone towers, leaving people unable to call for help.
Emergency responders have their own shortwave radios and communicate with the Emergency Operations Center that has been set up inside the police department. But on your street, there are people with injuries who need help right away. What do you do?
You could run/bike over to the police department or transport the injured yourself. Or you can use a ham radio, a two-way radio communication that uses specific frequencies to communicate with other “hams” and relay a message to emergency officials that help is needed.
Find out what's happening in Petalumawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On Thursday, a group of ham radio enthusiasts fanned out across Petaluma to conduct a test exercise to see how well they could send messages in an emergency like an earthquake or another natural disaster.
The drill was part of the Great California Shakeout, a statewide event to urge businesses, schools and residents to prepare for “the big one,” which is expected to hit Northern California over the next 30 years.
Find out what's happening in Petalumawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“The role of ham radio people would be to act as disaster intelligence through a city,” said Bill Hammerman, a ham radio enthusiast who wants to create a Neighborhood Watch group made up of other hams. “In an emergency situation, there can sometimes be a lag from when an accident occurs to when the emergency response goes out...There is a lot of confusion and hams can help facilitate the response."
If you are a ham radio enthusiast and want to get involved in this network, Hammerman's radio names are K16GOO and WQIJ275. He is also reachable by phone 707-762-6593 or at whammer@petalumanet.org.
