Typ­i­cal of train­ing and pre­pared­ness for the emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tion role is the Ama­teur Radio Emer­gency Ser­vice (ARES) in Hong Kong.

HARTS Hon­onary Sec­re­tary Rudy Wong VR2USP in an update reports that radio ama­teurs are trained to be on the ARES duty ros­ter, ready if needed.

ARES also has a Mem­o­ran­dum of Under­stand­ing (MoU) with the Secu­ri­ty Bureau of Hong Kong when the offi­cial com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tem is down. The new ARES Coor­di­na­tor for HARTS is Eric Leung VR2UGF.

It may ask HARTS to form an emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tion sup­port ser­vice and the main­stay of infra­struc­ture is a hill­top Ama­teur Radio VR2R UHF repeater site that also has an APRS weath­er station.

Rudy VR2USP reports that part of the prepa­ra­tion is the com­mu­ni­ca­tion sup­port ser­vices cen­tre (HARTS CSSC) in Yau Tong, which has a base sta­tion with HF, 6m, VHF & UHF, ready to oper­ate in anytime.

While typhoon Hato was felt in Hong Kong in August caus­ing dam­age and floods, our repeater and mon­i­tor­ing for the emer­gency call the VR2R repeater and asso­ci­at­ed weath­er sta­tion were monitored.

Rudy VR2USP reports that the ser­vices of Ama­teur Radio that were ready, were not need­ed by the Secu­ri­ty Bureau of Hong Kong at that time.

– Jim Lin­ton VK3PC, Chair­man IARU Region 3 Dis­as­ter Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Committee