AG31
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 31  ARLB031
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  October 23, 2015
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB031
ARLB031 Radio Amateurs in Mexico Prepare as Powerful Hurricane
Patricia Nears Landfall

An emergency net has been established on 7060 kHz (LSB) from
Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima, in anticipation of the
powerful Hurricane Patricia, which is threatening Mexico's Pacific
Coast. According to Zian Aguirre, XE1ATZ, the emergency net will
also be using 14,120 and 21,120 kHz, and he asked the Amateur Radio
community to keep all three frequencies clear for emergency traffic.
States of emergency are in effect for three Mexican states.

Omar Alvarez, XE1AO, a faculty member at the University of Colima,
initially activated the net on 7060 kHz from the University, which
has its own amateur station. He said other stations had checked in
from the capital city of Colima.

'We don't have any damage at the moment, just rain since yesterday
evening,' Alvarez told ARRL. 'We are expecting the first effects at
1500 local time. Now I am at home. In the last hour I have had nine
stations report in on HF and three on VHF, but without any emergency
reports.'

He further reported that major grocery outlets in Manzanillo were
closing this morning, although they would remain open in Colima,
where other economic activity has been shut down. After 1300 local
time, the water supply in Manzanillo would shut down as well. 'Most
of the tourists were evacuated from all the coastal hotels,' he
said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami is calling the Category 5
storm 'potentially catastrophic,' as it heads toward landfall in
southwestern Mexico. As of 1500 UTC, the storm was located about 125
miles southwest of Manzanillo and 195 miles south of Cabo
Corrientes, Mexico. Evacuation of some 60,000 residents in the
storm's path is under way.

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Area C
Emergency Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, has alerted emergency
coordinators within Amateur Radio range of Mexico that Hurricane
Patricia is packing winds of up to 200 MPH. 'Preparations to deal
with the huge storm should be completed by now,' he said. 'I expect
Mexican radio amateurs to be operating in the area of 40 meters used
for emergency traffic. Please be on the alert in the frequency range
between 7050 and 7100 kHz for possible emergency related traffic
from Mexico.'

The National Hurricane Center said in its 1500 UTC summary, 'On the
forecast track, the center of Patricia should cross the coast in the
hurricane warning area late this afternoon or early this evening.
After landfall, the center of Patricia is expected to move quickly
north-northeastward across western and northern Mexico.'

Hurricane Patricia is the most powerful storm ever recorded by the
National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to generate
torrential rains and flooding. The storm is moving to the north at
about 10 MPH. The National Hurricane Center has reported that the
minimum central barometric pressure is at an extraordinary 25.99
inches.