OEM Photo & Volunteer Opportunities

A photo of some of the Office of Emergency Management Staff taken and posted on Facebook by the US National Weather Service Fort Worth.  Left to Right: Matt, Rebekah, Irish Hancock (OEM Administrator), Mayor Robert Cluck, NWS (embarrassed but name escapes me) and Fort Worth NWS Warning Coordinator Meteoroilogist Mark Fox.

Since I last posted:

• August:  - RACES check-in and training net and the monthly warning siren test
• September - RACES check-in and training net and monthly warning siren
• September 7 - RACES activation for spin-up tornadoes part of the former Hurricane Hermine system moving north through central and north Texas
• September 8 - RACES activation for torrential rains of  up to 11 inches just south of Arlington causing major flooding across the entire Central and North Texas area - short stint at EOC then home to constant droning of helicopters hovering above flooded apartment complex  (about a mile from my house) taking video of several rescues that made international news. I had over 6" at my house, then my rain guage overflowed.. The creek at the bottom of the back yard looked like a lake. I've never seen it that high. Water came up over the bridge on the major street around the corner. My neighbors, driving around to see the water and damage, drove into water much higher than they expected and ended up with new car.
• September 19 - CERT volunteer at all day EOC Super Bowl Exercise
• October - RACES check-in and training net and the monthly warning siren test
• October 11 - meeting at OEM re the monthly warning siren test - Arlington is instituting an "adopt a siren" program giving local citizens the opportunity to report in on their neighborhood siren rather than having a Ham operator observing it from time to time. There has been some mis-communication as to who is going to observe what siren. Today was the first opportunity to try new approach, but test was cancelled due to weather
• October 16 - served at Net Control for RACES public service event: Alzheimer's Memory Walk held in Trinity Park in Fort  Worth; came back to Arlington and got in on the tail end of Tarrant County Health Department radio exercise that ran considerably past the time expected
• October 23 - brief RACES activation for severe weather moving through NE Tarrant County; F0 touch down at 820 & Trinity Blvd doing limited damage
• October 24 - I wasn't personally involved, but Emergency Manager from Navarro County took this video way too close to the F2 that hit Rice, Texas. See video here:
• October 30 - GO RANGERS!! - World Series Games #3-5 held in Arlington. I was at the EOC for Game #3 - the one the Rangers won!! Answered phones, made coffee, set out pizza delivery for consumption, tossed empty boxes, emptied trash, and watched game on the big screen it was sharing with several traffic camera feeds. It was a bit strange watching the last hitter on the 7-second delay Fox feed while seeing fireworks already going off from a traffic camera in a box next to it. Forgot to take any pictures! Came home and ate coffee ice cream in celebration.