Announcements:
Upcoming amateur radio exam sessions
Saturday, April 26th at 3:00 pm
Thursday, June 5th at 7:00 pm
Pre-registration Required RSVP
The 2025 version of the Great Utah Shakeout drill was held Thursday, April 17th, with city and faith based amateur and GMRS radio groups from all across the valley joining in. Newton Town radio operators along with Ward Emergency Communications Specialists in the Benson Stake were invited to participate. I realize the time of day may have prevented some of our net members from participating, but it was a beneficial exercise.
All radio operators who checked in to the net answered a series of assessment questions, to determine the status of persons, structures, utilities and communications at their household.
This information is helpful for both government and faith based organizations, to account for injured or deceased persons, determine who is missing, and to assess damage to homes and infrastructure. Based on the data obtained through the assessment process, emergency managers can develop a plan to respond to those needs, request resources based on the needs discovered, and report to the next level in their chain of communication.
Ward Emergency Communications Specialists had an additional assignment, to complete and submit a Church Disaster Report - using emergency modes of communication where possible - simulating injuries and damage as if a 5.9 magnitude earthquake had occurred in Cache Valley.
The simulated data received from each reporting ward indicated that across the Stake we had 50 persons injured, 4 deceased, 126 homes suffered varying levels of damage and 5 homes were destroyed. There were 171 simulated volunteers, working 1,002 hours to assess the needs of the communities, clean up the damage and to assist the 21 persons who needed to be sheltered in meetinghouses.
For the Ward Emergency Preparedness and Communications Specialists joining us tonight, I encourage you to work with the Bishop and Ward Council of your ward to identify how the assessment process will be completed if an emergency occurs, and who will have accountability for the assessments. Whether it be sectioning your ward into small groups of households with two or more persons assigned to each group, or through the existing ministering organization, this is a critical part of the response to an emergency.
If I can be of assistance as you review your Ward emergency response procedures, please reach out.
For the Newton Town radio operators who are joining us tonight, there are approximately 354 occupied households within the area covered by Newton Fire and EMS personnel. There will be plenty of opportunity to help at the EOC, or as radio operators in the field, as we work with the fire department personnel and the ward emergency managers to make sure we have surveyed each household and identified the needs of the community.
While actual emergencies are few and far between, to all of the radio operators who join us each month to test our equipment and train, I appreciate your willingness to be involved!