Special to the NEWS
During any type of emergency, whether it is anything from a storm or a hazardous material incident, the hub of all communications is the City of San Benito’s EOC. From here, city officials, elected officials, city staff and volunteers gather to assure that the citizens and businesses are protected.
Following the four steps to an emergency – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery – the EOC staff will spend countless hours assuring that all necessary equipment, personnel and resources are available.
In this modern day and age, computers, internet, and cell phones are the means of communications.
Everyone relies on them and rarely ever does anyone think that these communication methods are actually the most vulnerable. Electricity fails and batteries run out. Landline phones also only last until the power is lost at the central station. Services provided by cable TV are also lost. So where does this leave the EOC? Up and running! The generator the City of San Benito’s EOC can keep internal systems running, but as far as internet & email, it goes silent.
Except for one important resource: Amateur Radio (Ham Radio). One might be wondering what are all those antennas atop of the City’s Municipal Building.
These are ham-radio antennas, and are the keys for providing a direct link to various federal, state, local agencies and the weather bureau on what is happening in San Benito in the event the internet goes down. Amateur radio does not depend on the internet or cell service to transmit and receive messages.
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