Media reports are promoting communication during emergencies often gets disrupted. But a technology that’s been around since the late 1800s still shines bright even in the darkest of times

Amateur Radio operators play a key role when severe weather comes rolling into the Wabash Valley. And the need for more radio operators continues to grow. HAM radio still proves to be a reliable source of communication, especially during emergencies.

The Clay County Amateur Radio Emergency Service is up and running in the Cory Volunteer Fire Department.

Storm Team 10's David Siple spoke with Kevin Berlen K9HX who is an amateur radio operator in Clay County and Siple asked him why Amateur Radio is still an important resource.

“Widespread power outages, widespread communications failures, and that’s where the HAM’s can shine because we don’t rely on that infrastructure.”

You can expect many amateur operators out in the field spotting for storms. Many are trained on weather spotting through the National Weather Service. And their information plays an important role when severe weather strikes.

“The problem is, the radar beam is so high above the ground when you get to this area of the state, they really don’t know what’s happening on the ground. That’s where the spotters come in. They can help them with damage assessment, they can tell them what’s actually taking place right on the ground and that’s invaluable to those folks [NWS].”

Media Story - https://www.wthitv.com/content/news/Amateur-radio-operators-are-still-in-high-demand-574372471.html