Amateur radio operators support earthquake drills

More than 20 Mendocino County amateur radio operators — also known as ham radio operators — participated in the Great ShakeOut exercise on Thursday, Oct. 15.

This is a worldwide event simulating actual conditions if there was an actual large earthquake and/or tsunami. If such an event were to occur, it is possible, even likely, that power, phone, cellphone and internet would be disrupted. Amateur radio is a communications systemthat operates independently of conventional infrastructure.

In 2017, during the October fires in Mendocino County, much of the communications for the central part for the county— including police and fire communications— were disrupted for several days. In that event, local hams provided critical communications.

For the drill initiated on Oct. 15, volunteers observed and reported the status of bridges and rivers for both earthquake damage and a possible tsunami. Reports were collected from all around the county, both on the coast and inland and forwarded to a station acting as the Mendocino County Emergency Operations Center.

The event was organized by the Mendocino County Auxiliary Communications Service. Mike Carter, a coordinator for MACS, said, “We are pleased at the efforts and results of the drill. We can count on these volunteers to help out in an actual emergency.”

MACS is an all-volunteer organization made up of FCC-licensed amateur radio operators to serve the community in times of emergency. Donations to support these activities gratefully accepted. Donations can be made to Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services.

For more information, visit www. mendocinocounty. org/government/ executive- office/office- ofemergency-services/oes-administration/mendocinocounty-auxiliary-communication-service-macs.