<div dir="ltr"><h1 style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:16pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Hurricane Florence: Radio hams help during disasters</h1><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">WBRC TV News</strong> reports amateur radio operators play vital role in hurricane response <br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">With winds barreling towards the east coast at 150 miles an hour, Hurricane Florence could knock out lines of communication for days.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">If she does, amateur radio operators like <strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Vann Martin W4JVM</strong> will be vital.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">“Amateur radio is a means of communication without reliant on modern technology like cell phones or landlines,” Martin explains.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">“We can use batteries. We can set up an antennae practically anywhere. We&#39;re able to get to the site, as quickly as anyone else, barring first responders and we become a helpmate to these organizations.”<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Martin, the head of Amateur Radio of Alabama, has seen such help during natural disasters--like Hurricane Katrina and Snowmaggedon.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">He especially remembers information ham operators were able to relay about Bessemer during the April 2011 tornadoes<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">“In this instance, these people were able to listen to amateur radio on a scanner, they were not operators, but they were able to have a hand held scanner and hear our information and seek shelter in time that practically saved their life,” he says.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">With a network of more than 12-thousand licensed operators in Alabama, Martin has already reached out to his counterparts in the states Florence is slated to hit letting them know they are ready to help.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">“So it has many aspects from the fun, to the served to actually can we make a difference in somebody’s life.”<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Watch the WBRC report at <br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.wbrc.com/2018/09/13/ham-radio-operators-play-vital-role-hurricane-response/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration-line:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.wbrc.com/2018/09/13/ham-radio-operators-play-vital-role-hurricane-response/</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">What is Amateur Radio?<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration-line:none;word-wrap:break-word">http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Find a UK amateur radio training course near you<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration-line:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Free online Foundation course<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration-line:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/</a></p></div>