2011-3

Antenna Remount at VIFR Station 55

Thanks to Phil W7PDZ, Tim W7TRH, Jim WA7KYI & VIFR’s Bob Larsen for dismounting and initiating repairs on the aged mount for the 3-30 MHz HF antenna at the EOC at VIFR Station 55 yesterday.  The antenna fit over an aluminum cylinder that was welded to the mast. That cylinder fatigued over time and snapped & is being replaced with something heavier. Jim kindly agreed to oversee the repairs and I understand Bob Powell has been recruited to help out too.

Crowd Sourcing and Crisis Mapping

  You’ve no doubt heard about volunteers across the globe helping assist with Haitian, Libyan, and other crises by crowd sourcing: geolocating and tagging new reports and data from a wide variety of news sources like phones, web forms, tweets, email and more. By filtering for keywords and locating these reports on a map, a wide variety of emergency managers, researchers, and citizens can rapidly get a better feeling for late breaking information – well before a reporter or others have had time to synthesize the data into a summary or overview.

Your first move when the earth shakes-- “Drop, Cover, and Hold”

Release Date and Time:03-25-2011 08:19:00 AM

"Triangle of Life" theory is dismissed by quake experts. The technique is not applicable for earthquake experiences in the U.S. The safest response is to "Drop, Cover, and Hold" until the ground stops shaking.

Now is NOT the time to Cut Back on Disaster Preparedness Funding

Jim Mullen, director of the Washington State Emergency Management Division and president of the National Emergency Management Association, wrote an excellent op-ed in yesterday’s Seattle Times, citing the value in maintaining funding for disaster preparedness – which is currently under threat. Read it online at:

KCSO-- new online reporting system

Residents and business owners in unincorporated King County have a new way to report non-emergency crimes and traffic complaints.

Japanese Internet Stays Up – even When Electricity Doesn’t

Today's 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan has had surprisingly limited impacts on the structure and routing dynamics of the regional Internet. Of roughly 6,000 Japanese network prefixes in the global routing table, only about 100 were temporarily withdrawn from service — and that number has actually decreased in the hours since the event. Other carriers around the region have reported congestion and drops in traffic due to follow-on effects of the quake, but most websites are up and operational, and the Internet is available to support critical communications.

Vashon Receives Huge 350 kW Emergency Generator from Franciscan Health System

Diesel-powered unit will serve community shelter during power outages 

Franciscan Health System has donated a large emergency-power generator to the community of Vashon Island so residents can have a safe, warm, lighted building in which to seek shelter when Mother Nature knocks out electricity to homes and businesses in the area.

Visual Results of Japanese Tsunami

www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm has incredible photos of the Japanese earthquake’s aftereffects – as contrasted with an initial view of the same scene.

Most people not insured for earthquakes and floods

You may think your insurance policy covers your home, apartment or business for earthquakes and floods. The Northwest Insurance Council thinks you should take a closer look, because many people are not insured for such national disasters.

Japan-- 5th Largest Earthquake

Gauges at the University of Washington lit up for hours after the initial Japanese earthquake, which now has been determined to be the fifth largest earthquake in the world since 1900.

Quake most expensive yet

Losses from the quake, tsunami and fires will total at least $100 billion, including $20 billion in damage to residences and $40 billion in damage to infrastructure such as roads, rail and port facilities, catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat estimated.

Quake shifts Japan 13’ East

“This week's earthquake caused the main island of Japan to shift as much as 13 feet to the east, seismologists say. That may sound like a shocker, but it's just one of the natural changes that come along with an 8.9-magnitude temblor — like the 1.6-microsecond speed-up of Earth's daily rotation and the 4-inch shift in Earth's axis.”

Brett Kranjcevich Delivers Generators to Vashon

I happened to be out taking pics of the new 350 kW generator from Franciscan Health System on 3 Mar - when who should show up but Brett, hauling the other new 110(?) kW generator from King County OEM! Here’s a photo of him firing it up for the first time. Having both generators will *really* help local preparedness efforts as multiple shelters may be needed or other community facilities may also need a boost during extended outages.

HR 607 Targets Amateur Radio - and Public TV & Radio

The ARRL is mobilizing the amateur community to oppose HR 607, a bill that would offer up the entire amateur 70 cm allocation for other purposes as part of a spectrum swap:
www.arrl.org/hr-607
www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h607/show
 

Response to the New Terrorist Threat Codes

The efficacy of the terrorist threat level scheme is dubious: how to convey something so complex simply? John Cleese has a smart interpretation of these: