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Ham Radio Served as Main Link to Disaster Area
Posted by
michael
on Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:05 PM
from the fallback dept.
from the fallback dept.
SonicSpike writes "A University of Central Florida ham radio operator K4VUD (and founder
of their film program) was caught in Port
Blair during the earthquake and following tsunami! He and a team of other ham radio operators arrived in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands to setup the region's
first ham station 2 weeks prior to the disaster. Once they realized what
happened they immediately began transmitting for 20 straight hours using car batteries as a power source. Most cellular and land-line communication was down. His team became the main link to the rest of the world from the region."
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Ham Radio Served as Main Link to Disaster Area
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That's life (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:That's life (Score:5, Insightful)
Not as much as you may think. The media likes to discover a lot of things that were obvious for many years, especially if they can hang on to the disaster-happy public long enough to play one more commercial or display another banner. Ham and CB radio have served in just about every natural or man-made disaster since they have been in the hands of citizens.
I feel sadness inside everytime it occurs to me people think the reason to buy a two-way radio is to chit-chat about BS over public air-waves. These are powerful tools, baby.
Re:That's life (Score:4, Insightful)
Right, but the nations are examples of this greed and a collective of resources. This was sort of my point.
Has getting to the moon really done much for us lately? Surely abstract technological progress has been made by funding space endeavors in general (and more specifically space probes and telescopes), and I'm not really knowledgeable enough to say whether it's worth the federal investment, but did we really need to send up some guys to put a flag in the dirt (aside from political motivations of course)?
Um, just about every electronic item you own, every "space-age" fabric you use, the technology used in your car, a better grasp of cheaper space travel, countless medical experiments with many positive results, etc. The list goes on and on. We have benefitted in many ways from this "pissing" contest. Yes, we paid great prices and it probably wasn't the best way, but it happened and we probably wouldn't have been so pressed to research and increase technology had there not been a foe there to incite us.
Re:That's life (Score:5, Informative)
Although, I must admit, you at least nailed the point on the head with your second thought you put down. Amateur Radio operators don't just get their license to chit-chat about stuff. Most of us are here for when we're needed.
Case in point: The recent streak of Hurricanes out around Florida. The Amateur Radio community had spotters in the field the entire time relaying information to the National Weather Service and the Hurricane Watch Center.
A good resource for those of you interested in getting your Amateur Radio Service license is:
http://www.arrl.org (Amateur Radio Relay League)
It's considered the "voice" of the community and has quite a bit of news on there.
Re:That's life (Score:5, Informative)
Dr. Harpole (K4VUD [qrz.com]) was actually part of what they called a DXpedition. Where he had gone , there had never in history been an officially sanctioned amateur radio station before. It was mere coincidence that he had been there 2 weeks prior that special permission had been granted for the radio operators to operate there. The ARRL has more on the DXpedition gone into emergency mode [arrl.org]
Also, It should be noted that Dr. Harpole was not the only radio operator there. We have been keeping a series of links on this, however, which are available on the UCF Amateur Radio Club's wiki [ucf.edu].
I would like to point out that I do not typically reply to Slashdot posts, however, this is actually something of which I am somewhat a part, and figure I should set things straight. (despite the fact people will still continute to put up off the wall posts on the subject anyway)
Que the griping about data over powerlines: (Score:1)
(http://slashdot.org/)
Re:Que the griping about data over powerlines: (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.kc8apf.net/)
Morse Code (Score:1)
A very interesting article! (Score:4, Funny)
(http://www.fantasticdamage.com/)
(The submitter and I just had three shots of espresso!)
See, if you take out the exclamation points, it doesn't sound so insincere.
Broadband over power lines (Score:3, Insightful)
What do you care more for
I think the Hams win this one.
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.baconcheddar.org/ | Last Journal: Friday November 10 2006, @12:13PM)
Not all Ham radio is in the short-range VHF/UHF bands. HF bands in the 15 meter to 160 meter wavelength range can directly "reach" India from the U.S. There are thousands of Joe Hams in the suburbs with this kind of equipment.
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:5, Informative)
http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html\
General, Advanced and Extra licensees have HF
operating privileges.
That's just in the US.
There are several million Amateur Radio operators world wide.
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.outoftheboxsolutions.com/ | Last Journal: Monday April 17 2006, @10:36AM)
A few years ago, a guy used a light bulb as an antenna and was able to work contacts on all 6 continents. There was an article in the ARRL magazine, but I can't seem to find it...
You can easily work around the world with a 5w transceiver and a simple wire antenna. Does having 1500w running through a 100' tower help? Sure. Is it necessary? Not even close.
A couple of hundred dollars of equipment could allow you to work even the most distant contacts under most circumstances. What did you spend on *game* software last year? Could someone else have chosen to spend the same amount of money on something they consider a valuable public service?
Here's one for you: *DID* a millitary fly in sat phones? If they did, would they be used by everyday people to let loved ones know they were still alive? No. So why do you assume it would happen tomorrow when it didn't happen today?
As for it not having advanced in the last 10 years: how much more advanced is that land telephone in your house? That power outlet that you plug your computer to? Don't you hate the fact that the power company hasn't "innovated"? Sometimes dramatic innovation isn't necessary. Computers are at most 50 years old. Radio is *twice* that. Wouldn't you expect a slower rate of innovation? And by the way, search for PSK31: just because *you* haven't heard of the innovatins, doesn't mean they don't exist...
Ham radio is not for everyone. It's not terribly exciting. But when there's a disaster, it's a community dedicated to serve. When was the last time you heard about those LAN network administrators who were instrumental in helping whole communities to communicate in the event of a disaster? No, that's right: They were too busy whining that their DSL was down...
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:4, Interesting)
(http://mclarenhome.com/~dougmc/)
If a ham really did work (ignoring repeaters and things like echolink) six continents with his light bulb antenna, he probably did it via the transmission lines going to his light bulb (if you spread them out and/or make them uneven, they can make a nice antenna. In that case, the light bulb would just be a terminator, and not an antenna by itself.
The antenna is the most important part of a rig used for DXing. If you put 1500 watts into it, I imagine you could get a few watts out of a light bulb as RF, but it wouldn't be able to pick up anything. I just don't buy it.
This is a bit more plausable, though it's certainly not easy to talk to somebody 12,000 miles away with only 5 watts and a simple dipole antenna.Oh, and I'm AD5RH.
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:4, Informative)
(http://www.outoftheboxsolutions.com/ | Last Journal: Monday April 17 2006, @10:36AM)
A link that pretty much backs up what I was saying. And it even mentions that the author used a balun to reduce feedline radiation!
http://qrp.kd4ab.org/2000/000617/0033.html [kd4ab.org]
I really wish I could find the actual article, but this is close enough for me... Wrong on the year, though: it was mid-2000. Everything else is close enough.
Q: How likely?? (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://scoxq.com/rajah)
I've been an FCC licensed Ham since 1958 at age 12 and operate only with low power (QRP to us hams) as a challenge precisely because making long distance contacts was too easy with even moderate power (say 100 watts) and modest wire antennas. I've communicated directly with Japan and New Zealand from my car in Illinois using a 4 watt transmitter and a 4 foot antenna on the trunk. If you get up to around 100 Watts and a reasonable wire antenna hung up in the trees in the back yard, you can very easily talk anywhere in the world, given reasonable conditions.
What good is it from the other end? I was with Project Hope [projecthope.org] in Tunisia in 1969 and provided daily "phone-patched" phone call service to the staff of about 150 people so they could stay in touch with their families back home, without having to pay the $13.00 for the first 3 minutes that the landline cost. It made a huge difference to the people on the hospital ship. In disaster situations, it's orders of magnitude more important. Some of my fellow hams here in the states provided similar communications for military and Antarctic bases for years.
To learn more about Amateur Radio, visit the ARRL website. ARRL [arrl.org] Oh, and please, please, do not lump us in with CB folks, as nice as some of them are. Hams are tested and licensed to FCC standards prior to being allowed to put their transmitters on the air.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Re:Broadband over power lines (Score:4, Informative)
(http://www.milewski.org/)
From a station in Suburbia. Palo Alto, to be precise.
-Z
PS: Repeaters are a VHF-and-up thing. Disaster work is usually HF. You know, the frequencies BPL wipes out.
Another good reason for BPL.... (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://www.lostrange.com/index.htm)
Sometimes just making money isn't the best thing.
73 - KL1SA
Re:Another good reason for BPL.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Not to mention the deterrent effect that constant interference would have on amateurs beforehand. It may look like we're just "playing radio," but those are the activities that keep people interested and active in between disasters.
Re:Another good reason for BPL.... (Score:5, Insightful)
a) To talk to people in distant places
b) Perform public service (RACES/ARES, etc)
c) Be able to fix/build/repair your own radio gear.
Now, let's see what happens today:
a) Anyone can plug in a $4 mic, use VoIP, and "talk" to almost anywhere on Earth, no license or self-study required.
b) Whip out your cell phone. That is unless a disaster hits, and all the cell sites are down, or your 40 min. battery dies. Also the "big news guys" literally take over a cell site. CNN's truck logs in via cell at every major story, and keeps an open line as a backup. If even 200 reporters did this, kiss off any chance of getting a cell signal, since the towers would be overloaded
c) How many parts inside a modern radio are actually user-servicable? I mean, I *can* probably replace a blown out chip-capacitor, if I had to, but when it is smaller than a pencil point, and 5 seconds of extra heat would wipe out the printed circuit board by lifting the traces, is this something you would want to do to a $2000 piece of amateur radio? The new ICOM rig sells for more than $10,000! Who would ever want to "modify" something like that? Rich de KY6O (Extra class license holder. Proof that if I can do it, anyone can. For more info on obtaining a license, see http://www.arrl.org/ [arrl.org] which is the official site of US amateur radio operations)
Link to South America (Score:2, Interesting)
The old story (Score:3, Insightful)
Send them guys some Bawls (Score:2, Funny)
Other Ham Heroes (Score:5, Informative)
(Last Journal: Wednesday August 04 2004, @10:37AM)
Re:Other Ham Heroes (Score:5, Informative)
Ham operators have proven time upon time that when disaster strikes, they are upon the first to establish communications.
ok, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean, this is similar to the relief organizations in the area now -- they keep telling regular people not to volunteer to fly to the region and help out, because what they really want are people who know what they're doing and part of the organization already, and can be deployed. A single ham radio operator on his/her own is not going to be that useful.
So maybe I'm not really familiar with the true value of ham radio operators in situations like this -- can anyone give a more informed picture? Do they just serve to carry random individual messages of "I'm ok", until the military/relief authorities arrive and set up a real command communications network?
thanks for the info.
Re:ok, but... (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.foobarsoft.com/)
Hams (at least those with interest) can be well trained in this area. They are trained to do everything from serve as simple phones for wellness traffic ("Hi mom, my house is gone but the dog is OK.") to assisting emergency relief personel (operating their radios for them to keep hands free, helping co-ordinate the operation by keeping information on everyone up to date on people's position, how many more people a relief station can handle so those in the field know where to take new ones, that there are X people with Y injuries that need to be medivaced, etc.)They are much more than normal people with "magic cell phones" that still work without the infrastructure.
In the US you can find them doing ARES and RACES (I think those are the big two) which are disaster relief and such training to do the kind of things mentioned above. Not only do they do drills simulating traffic and operating without power and normal communications and stuff, the practice regularly by helping out with the running of parades and other public events to keep their skills sharp in doing that kind of thing.
On my local repeater (RACES repeater, I think) every so often (Wed nights at some time) they practice carrying traffic between people. It's usually unimportant stuff (saying "hi" to friends, party invites, happy birthday, etc.) but they practice. Someone is incharge and they ask for messages and they go through them one by one. The guy with the message will say "this is ____ and I have a message for _____ in _____, can anyone carry it" (or something like that). Someone will volunteer (either they know the person or they will just call them or pass it on to the next 'net). The person sending the message and the person who volunteered will then chat (either there, or more frequently on a nearby empty frequency so things can keep moving along) and the message gets sent. It's all quite interesting actually.
Hams do alot (besides just chat and also neat expirmatents trying to bounce signals off various layers of the atmosphere, the moon, mars, commets, asteroid showers, balloons, and anything else more than 5 feet in the air).
Re:ok, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
"I'm OK, as well as the 500 other people in this hotel" is a lot better than 500 missing persons.
Early Warning (Score:3, Interesting)
(http://myspace.com/yoweigh | Last Journal: Monday October 18 2004, @03:08AM)
Orlando Sentinel article (Score:5, Informative)
(http://edgeofvision.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday June 20, @08:07PM)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld
It needs a free reg, or bugmenot.com
It's really amazing what they did. Here's a snippet from the article:
And with most telephone lines down and cell phones scarce, the ham-radio club's efforts proved invaluable as the scope of the disaster increased day after day.
The first messages were to let people on the Indian mainland know that those on the island were safe and unharmed.
A young waiter at Harpole's hotel asked them to get word to his mother in Hyderabad, India, that he was alive and well.
"We found a ham-radio operator on the mainland, gave the mother's telephone number," Harpole said. Within five minutes a ham operator in Hyderabad called the waiter's mother and relayed the message.
"He told us the mother was crying with joy," he said.
Harpole's group cheered and clapped. Word spread quickly across the island, and their work went on for hours and hours.
When Indian government officials learned of the hamradio operators, they relayed messages for official requests for medicines, water and blankets. Several of the radio operators headed south to Nicobar.
So many links (Score:1)
(http://clintonhawk.net/)
wahooo (Score:1)
(http://www.uf-os.net/)
What modes were used? (Score:2)
(http://www.northatla...ucts/1583940537.html | Last Journal: Sunday April 27 2003, @08:23PM)
There are some very good ham digital modes suited to the high-frequency bands where l;ong distance communication is possible via reflection from the ionosphere. PSK31 works well for keyboard-to-keyboard use. Of particular note here is a system known as winlink (yes it is windows based). It is specifically designed for text email communications to and from remote locations where other communciations infrastructure does not exist or is extremely expensive.
A good reference to winlink is http://www.winlink.org/ [winlink.org]. The status of winlink stations in tsunami affected areas is given at http://www.bur.st/~philsuth/tsunami_status.html [www.bur.st]
That sure beats... (Score:3, Funny)
(http://localhost/)
fix BPL before worldwide implimentation (Score:1)
HAM Radio in disasters (Score:4, Insightful)
Amateur radio has been used all over the world many many times during disaster. Hurricanes here in the states, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. They usually go unnoticed, despite being the only source of communication at times. Severe storm warnings are usually issued after HAMs report, via radio, that there is in fact a severe storm (after undergoing training of course). Without us even knowing it they can be a huge part of our daily lives.
Its good to see that such a useful, threatened hobby can show one of its many goodsides to the world by helping out.
73 de kg4gytAndaman and Nicobar were off limits for years (Score:5, Interesting)
It's a fortunate coincidence that Charly finally got permission to operate there only a short time before the tsunami!
Re:Andaman and Nicobar were off limits for years (Score:5, Informative)
(Last Journal: Tuesday September 06 2005, @12:39PM)
They've had cases where vast swathes of these tribes have been wiped out by things like measles, influenza, etc, with recorded instances of deadly outbreaks as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries.
Hence, for their own protection, access to those people has been limited. I guess it's easier to spot a fair-skinned Westerner as being an outsider and avoid them accordingly than it is to do the same with mainland Indians who share similar complexions. Even so, you need a permit to visit the islands, and that's why.
Re:Andaman and Nicobar were off limits for years (Score:4, Informative)
field day (Score:2)
(http://www.syslog.org/)
As others have pointed out, HAMs have helped out in most every major disaster in recent history.
Jerry KB8GIG
http://www.syslog.org/ [syslog.org]
What's Truly Sad.. (Score:1, Insightful)
(Last Journal: Thursday January 13 2005, @12:25PM)
And yes, BPL is bad, and can/will interfere with HAM, but there are better ways to point this out than to completely ignore both the tragedy and what good these students, and other amateur HAM operators have been able to do since the tragedy occured.
So maybe my post is a bit off-topic, but I find it very disturbing that folks will focus on things like this when a tragedy occurs, especially the trolls. Think about what you're saying, and think about what it says about you before you click that submit button. (And yes, I know this is the Internet, and particularly /., but some of the trolls especially have managed to sink to new lows this time.)
Re:What's Truly Sad.. (Score:5, Informative)
(Last Journal: Tuesday June 11 2002, @01:20AM)
Ham Radio used often. (Score:4, Interesting)
This Leads to A Question... (Score:2, Interesting)
The Salvation Army's HAM Radio Involvement ... (Score:1)
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (Score:2, Informative)
The Sally-Ann are there too
http://satern.org/response.html/ [satern.org]
Donate to them here:
http://www.salvationarmy.org/ [salvationarmy.org]
Only slightly off-topic... (Score:4, Insightful)
(Last Journal: Monday October 15, @11:53PM)
Why in the hell is it that emergency services aren't equipt to handle anything but a normal day? When some idiots have assault weapons and body armor, police are practically helpless (they got lucky, actually). When there is anything larger than a house fire, firefighters don't have the equipment, training, numbers, etc. When there are real emergencies, police, firefigters and ambulance services don't have any working and practical communications equipment at all. It seems the more developed our country becomes, the more emergency services depend on the very infrastructure that will be first to fail when it's really needed...
It's clear that local (city/county, sometimes state) governments are to blame. They cause flood damage by approving roads to be built, but don't account for drainage, and allow homes to be built in the obvious path of flood waters. In the worst areas, they may even build storm-drains, but do nothing to keep they clear, rending them completely useless wastes of money. Emergency services in flood-prone areas never seem to have the equipment that would make it easy to perform the necessary rescues, meaning people die, money is wasted, etc.
They allow homes to be built near wooded areas, prone to major fires, and don't do the slightest bit of maintenance on those areas to prevent major fires. I've heard of only one city in Southern California that spends a small ammount of money to clear brush, why don't the rest? Firefighters are helpless against forrest-fires, and yet, the preventative controlled burns (the method previously used) have even been stopped.
Hospitals are now (finally) required to have a generator, but only required to have enough capacity to stay up for a short time (a couple days IIRC) when blackouts can last far longer. Besides hospitals, emergency services depend greatly on the power grid, and rarely have the generators they need (typically short-term battery power) so they are the least able to handle emergencies, when they are needed THE MOST.
The point of all of this is simple... What the hell is the good of having a local government, if they aren't taking care of the real necessities? Local governments are needed for the very things they are now neglecting to do, so why not get rid of them all-together? The basic things can be handled by the state government anyhow (police, fire, medical, schools, etc) so if we aren't going to be well-served by local governments, why keep them on as a leech, taking our tax dollars and spending them on trivial things few of us want, and most of us feel like we are getting ripped-off by?
Personally, of course I would prefer if local governments would just start doing their jobs, but since that's not happing, I'd like to see them abolished, rather than keeping the status-quo. What good are they, as is?
An Incorrect Report (Score:3, Informative)
The DXpedition was under the Aegis of National Institute of Amateur Radio (India) and it was lead by Ms. Bharati (VU2RBI), an Indian. I know this, because I saw them off to Nicobar islands a few weeks ago and I have been monitoring their traffic over the last week. They are due back on the mainland today sometime. Read the list of the the operators and the [niar.org] ARRL's version [arrl.org]
Isn't this normal? (Score:1)
Same happened in August 17,1999 Istanbul one (Score:2, Informative)
(http://www.noooxml.org/petition)
We lost everything. Well, we have a very very good operator, Turkcell GSM but at one point, they were useless.
TR ham radio guys showed up and practically handled all communications of disaster area.
I think it must be same in USA etc, some major stations are assigned by goverment if some major disaster happens.
For more info: http://www.amatortelsiz.com/english/engindex.html [amatortelsiz.com]
Mmmmm (Score:1)
(http://users.bigpond.net.au/phowlett)
Umm its always like this (Score:2)
(http://slashdot.org/~nurb432/ | Last Journal: Friday August 27 2004, @03:24PM)
It really wasnt 'news', but its nice to see them get some credit..
Ha! Eat THAT one, Time Magazine! (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://www.bluefeathertech.com/ | Last Journal: Friday November 04 2005, @11:51AM)
I wonder if the operators of that station find it so? Especially since they're providing a most valuable service that the (supposedly) much tougher public infrastructure failed to?
The same thing happened with the Nisqually Quake [rice.edu] in 2001. Within minutes after the shocks subsided, landline phones and cellphone networks alike were overwhelmed into non-functionality.
Guess what stayed up and working through the whole affair? Yep. Ham radio VHF and UHF repeaters, and HF nets.
Once and for all... (Score:2)
Port Blair... Blair Witch...hmmm.... (Score:1)
(http://www.ultrasonicdesigns.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday October 19 2005, @12:44PM)
Rule #2 about Ham Radios (Score:4, Funny)
Re:ugh (Score:2)
(http://www.wikisteve.com/ | Last Journal: Monday March 27 2006, @09:05PM)
Re:ugh (Score:5, Interesting)
To my knowledge, amateur radio provides the only free-as-in-speech global communication network that can operate completely independent of any grid. You can even run computer networks [wikipedia.org] on it, unlike the cell system.
Re:ugh (Score:2)
(Last Journal: Thursday October 20 2005, @07:58PM)
They used their car batteries wisely.
Re:ugh (Score:3, Insightful)
Let's see, maybe because:
1. They actually *HAD* a ham radio, not a cellphone tower.
2. I doubt if they had found a cellphone tower that they would just happen to have a power converter suitable to running it off of their car batteries. (And if they did, I doubt the batteries would last long supporting that dynamo.)
3. A back up generator would have been much more suitable to running something like a cell tower.
4. Can you say "cellular network"? Powering up one cell tower isn't going to do you diddly squat if the other cell towers and phonelines are down.
Re:ugh (Score:3, Interesting)
When disaster strikes, ham radio is often the only reliable means of communication into and out of the affected area.
LinuxGeek, KI4CJJ
Re:ugh (Score:1)
Gee whiz, what were they thinking?
Re:ugh (Score:1, Insightful)
And how, my friend, do you expect that cell tower to communicate with the rest of the world when the land lines are out? That said, do you have any idea how much power it would take to run an entire cell tower, off of car batteries? These cell towers don't run off of 12V DC, and even if they did, the power from one battery (or even 5) isn't gonna cut it. HAM radios (or any radio, for that matter) are still a very viable communication method when standard infrastructure goes the way of the shitter.
Re:ugh (Score:1)
(http://www.piotro.net/)
"how about using said car batteries and other forms of power to power the damned cell sites... much more useful..."
Maybe those car batteries would not power a cell station for long. How about the rest of the infrastructure. If you could power a single cell tower, would it do any good?
Don't kick Grandma.
Re:ugh (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.internetgenealogy.com/)
A family friend is a member of ARES [www.rac.ca], a network of ham radio operators who spring into action when the power goes off and cellular is a distant memory. These guys take their (volunteer) positions pretty seriously, and have acted a few times in the past decade to get news around quickly when more conventional methods aren't working.
Also, this is the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Some of these islands are being protected by India because they have stone age cultures untouched by modern culture. I would think electricity is pretty sparse, let alone cell phones.
So yes, Ham radio, Wow. Think of them as the Amish of 21th century communications. When the power grid collapses, they're the ones who will be there to save your ass.
Many of these islands haven't been contacted yet, even one week later. This is an excellent scenario for Ham Radio use. Let's hope that along with new seismic bouys they can dot the Indian Ocean with emergency Ham Radio systems.
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:4, Insightful)
(http://12.253.59.138/)
Just be thankful the world is reacting at all I say. If this had not have been a natural disaster, but rather another genocide or brutal regime killing people, the world would still be sitting on its collective hands watching the death toll rise. Natural disasters are easy to deal with. No messy issues with who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy", just throw money at it to prove how much you care.
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:2)
Why does that matter so much? Being a compulsive media watcher, I saw this whole ordeal unfold and it appears to have been meant to add some little sub-plot seeking to get folks to give up some money for a good cause. Since when has encouraging people to help been a bad thing? If stupid marketing sells more donations, then they should keep at it! Lives are saved regardless of the governments "feelings".. Last time I checked, the government was our citizens we elected to represent us. Sounds like they are doing their job here. For once!
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:2, Insightful)
Radio travels at the speed of light. Ships and helicopters travel at the speed of bureaucracy.
Next question.
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:5, Insightful)
2. Maybe the aussies actually had to load stuff on the ships. You know...stuff that people might need, like medical supplies, water, blankets. Does no good to send empty ships.
3. It takes quite a while for a carrier battle group (the Abraham Lincoln) [pacom.mil] to steam several thousand miles. Unless you know of another way to get helicopters and 15,000 navy people across a few thousand miles of open ocean.
It seems to me you're bitching just to be bitching.
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://slashdot.org/ | Last Journal: Sunday September 09, @10:43PM)
You think there are cargo ships and helicopters loaded up 24/7 with crews, appropriate supplies and doctors just waiting for a disaster to strike?
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:3, Informative)
(http://www.gottahavacuppamocha.com/)
The ships and helicopters are in the US Navy. They were geared up for a military mission. Once the White House decided to change their mission, they likely had to get provisions for the new mission. Tents, portable generators, etc.
Also, ships are not planes. While they can sail 24/7, they can still only go about 30 knots per hour (approx.). This works out to 720 nautical miles per day. Not very far on a global scale.
So, figure a day or two for the government to get it's head out, another day or to for reprovisioning, and a few more days sailing time, you get a week (approx).
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:2, Insightful)
Well do you suppose they just have big old ships full of disaster relief supplies sitting dockside in Australia? Or do you suppose that they have to be fueled, loaded up (once they figure out what types of supplies will be needed) and sent on the way?
Does the United States have helicopters that can make trans-oceanic crossings? Or do you suppose that maybe they have to operate off some sort of vessel? Might that vessel have to travel close enough to where relief supplies are needed so that the helicopters can make round trips to deliver muliple loads of supplies? Or do you expect that just sending the helicopters on a one way trip with a single load of supplies would be sufficient?
Have you stopped to consider that delivering relief supplies to disaster areas actually takes some thought and organization rather than being done in a chaotic, willy-nilly fashion?
Were you aware that even though there has been a huge disaster there are still functioning bureaucracies in the affected areas? Bureaucracies that expect i's to be dotted, t's to be crossed and the proper clearances obtained and the correct forms filled out in triplicate? Were you aware that a licence is required to import medicines into India and that the requirement is not being waved even in light of the huge disaster?
Apparently you haven't really considered these things or else you'd know that relief is actually being provided pretty damn fast on an international scale. If you want to offer any criticism on the tardiness of relief efforts then I suggest you look to the governments a little bit closer to the disaster areas as they are the ones who are properly positioned to provide immediate relief and are therefore the ones who are most responsible for doing so.
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:4, Insightful)
This already exists, more or less. Most countries have their own military, with aircraft and helicopters. What you propose would have to be a fleet every 500 miles or so, all the way around the planet. Helicopters are notoriously shortlegged. And quite often, they are the only thing that can get to the affected area. No runways exist, or are left after the disaster.
In this case, such a fleet would have been more useful for evacuation purposes. Seismographs recorded the earthquakes long before the tsunami hit populated areas.
Radio and telephone are far faster. And efforts were made in this case, to little effect.
No transport systems existed in those areas to get people out, but a first response system may have been able to get some out and deliver warnings to others. Enough that perhaps we'd be seeing death rates a tenth (or less) of those we actually have.
How many people can you evacuate via helicopter? 20 each? How many helicopters to evacuate 100,000 people in an hour?
Re:ugh (Score:1)
(http://home.primus.ca/~ronsharp/tororg.html)
Re:Big Cloud of Smoke (Score:2)
(http://financialsense.com/ | Last Journal: Saturday April 30 2005, @01:26AM)
Re:Privacy (Score:1)
Re:Why so slow to react? (Score:1)
In the case of the US, true. France, that country we in the US were all expected to despise a couple years ago, was the first with the most aid. [foxnews.com]