Radio for preparedness: What lessons can we learn from Hurricane Helene?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know about the devastation caused by hurricane Helene. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee have all been impacted by the storm. In the particularly hard hit area near Ashville, NC ham radio has been used to great effect for everything from health and welfare checks to directing supply drops and emergency evacuation requests. While there have been many hams (and non hams) who have been instrumental in the effort radio has played, one in particular stands out. Dan Gitro, K2DMG, has done an amazing job handling an insane amount of traffic. Dan, good on you man. You deserve all of the praise you're receiving.

While listening to the traffic, it occurred to me that there's a lot that people don't consider when looking at radio for emergency preparedness. I figured I'd discuss some of the things I consider when looking at radios for this purpose, and what I'd buy and what I'd skip. This disaster has put radio's role in a whole new light, and I think a lot of people will start to seriously consider their communications plan when preparing for disasters. Thanks as always for watching, and 73!


Evan
K2EJT
buymeacoffee.com/K2EJT
k2ejt@winlink.org