Non-ETO Exercises:
Events that may be of interest to our members...

Upcoming October 16, 2025 Earthquake Shakeout Exercise


10/20: See the Results!

Results of the ETO Great ShakeOut Participants' Efforts

In conjunction with Shakeout.org's 2025 Great ShakeOut event, ETO, the Winlink Development Team, the LAX North East ARES teams and others are running a joint exercise on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Standard ETO instructions are published along the usual schedule (around Monday, October 13), but you can also see the LAX North East team's version of the instructions here. To summarize the joint instructions:
  • compose and send a USGS/DYFI message on or after 10:16 AM local time on Thursday, October 16
  • be sure that your message is marked as EXERCISE and not REAL EVENT
  • uses the Exercise ID of SHAKEOUT
  • You DID feel it
  • Date/Time: 10/16/2025 10:16 (local)
  • your response is Dropped and covered (your best way to stay safe in a major quake)
  • you describe enough effects to generate an Intensity of at least V (5)
  • for the additional comments field, please format your response as:
    "ETO, Organized Exercise, <YOUR-BAND>, <YOUR-MODE>, <Additional Comments>
  • address your DYFI message to dyfi_reports_automated@usgs.gov, SHAKEOUT , your normal ETO clearinghouse and ETO-BK
  • note that for this exercise, you can use the Winlink "tactical address" of ETO-DRILL instead of your normal clearinghouse, and CC to ETO-BK.
  • Further details and examples will be available in the ETO published instructions.
The LAX North East team hosts an Amateur Radio Community Intensity Map (ARCIM) page at https://www.laxnortheast.org/exercises/shakeout where your submissions should be visible within an hour of your

The USGS always welcomes Winlink DYFI messages (as long as they are marked EXERCISE).

You're welcome and encouraged to share this exercise plan with your local teams too.

Have fun, good luck, and remember to drop, cover and hold!

Results of July 9th FEMA Exercise: Earthquake Response via Winlink

  • [PDF] Informal Summary of Results of Winlink Responses here
  • [Link] Results Map of Entire Exercise here
  • [JPEG] Map of Responses via Winlink here
  • [PDF] ICS-309 Comms Log of Winlink Responses here

July 9th: FEMA Exercise: Memphis Earthquake Response via Winlink

This Is An Exercise!!

July 9th: Major Earthquake strikes in Memphis, Tennessee region...


Exercise Message Submission Window

  • July 9th 11:30 UTC — July 9th 2300 UTC

Summary:

Difficulty Level:   Basic  


  • We have been invited to participate in a FEMA Multi-Regional Communications Exercise, JULY 9, 2025.
  • Unlike most exercises, this exercise does not give us the leisure of planning ahead with time for much detail.
  • However, this exercise provides a realistic timeframe for such an event. In most “real-life” emergencies, we do not get the luxury of developing a detailed exercise specific plan.
  • In addition to SHARES Winlink, which will provide agency to agency communications, this is also a wonderful opportunity for Winlink on amateur radio to show that situational awareness “ground truth,” can be readily obtained within an approximate 1,000 mile radius from the earthquake Memphis,TN epicenter.
  • Such information is especially critical to those who must prioritize response and recovery resources.
  • Please take the time to participate by filling out the Winlink provided field Situational Awareness Report form from the Winlink Express Template library, and send it in via telnet or radio per instructions found below.
  • This is a multi-Regional FEMA RECCWG driven exercise, which covers many communications systems including: The Winlink Hybrid Radio Email Network System for both CISA SHARES and Amateur Radio.
  • In this exercise, we are to provide a situational awareness report based on the information contained in the scenario, which greatly depends on our location.

Winlink Instructions and Scenario [PDF]

Exercise Description and Background [PDF]

March 29th, 2025: Results of "Tsunami 3/29/2025" Exercise

Results Map: DYFI: "Did You Feel It?"

Results Map by "In Tsunami Zone"

Results Map by "In Flood Zone"

NEW!! Results Pie Charts

We are trying a different approach to providing feedback. [click here to expand]


Instead of a numeric score, we provide information about why a particular field entry was considered wrong, and give you the correct response.

We hope you will find this to be More Useful and Informative.

When you click on your "push-pin" on the Results Map, you'll find Useful Feedback, as well as a record of all the information you submitted.

(be sure to scroll down on the left side Information Panel, to view all of the information there.)

Here is an example of Feedback to one of our own Programmers:

"How do I find my Check-In on the Map?"
  1. In your Web Browser, with our Results Map displayed...
  2. On the left side, you'll see a list of the 12 ETO Clearinghouses.
  3. Click the  ∨  (down-pointing caret), and the list will expand vertically;
  4. Type a Ctrl-F, to use the Browser's "Find On This Page" function;
  5. Type your Callsign;
  6. Your Browser will highlight your callsign, in the vertical list on the left.
  7. Click on your Callsign, and the Map will show you your "pushpin".
  8. Click on your Pushpin, and, on the left side of the screen, all of the information you sent in, will be listed.

[Click on the ▶ or the line of text above, to expand its contents]

Tsunami Exercise: March 29th, 2025

[Click on ▶ or link, to expand its contents]

Tsunami Exercise: March 29th, 2025
(March 22nd thru March 30th, actually)

Upcoming Event:
Tsunami Awareness Exercise: Saturday March 29, 2025

In conjunction with the California Tsunami Preparedness Week of March 22-30, the ARES team for Northeast Los Angeles is organizing an exercise on Saturday, March 29.

The exercise scenario is that a large earthquake has occurred and you are requested to send in 6 (six!) Winlink messages:

  • ICS-214 (to track your time, start at the beginning, but send at the end)
  • DYFI (to report on the exercise earthquake)
  • Winlink Check-In (to describe your operational capabilities)
  • (California) Welfare Bulletin Board (a great resource for viewing messages in near-real time)
  • ICS-213 (with an emphasis on local resources that you use for situational awareness)
  • Winlink Check Out (with an emphasis on your most important thing learned)

    • The nominal exercise date is Saturday March 29, but you're welcome to send your messages anytime between March 22 and March 30. Messages via Telnet are welcome.

    Special instructions for ETO folk:

    • Address all your messages to both: TSUNAMI and ETO-DRILL
    • Be sure to use the word: EXERCISE as the first word/line of every Comment or Message field
    • Please use ETO as your Group Affiliation (the second line or second word of every Comment or Message field.
    • You're welcome to be affiliated with more than one group too!

    Even if you can't participate in sending the Winlink messages, this is a great opportunity for you to learn about Tsunami and Flooding risks in your area (see the instructions, especially for the ICS-213!)

    The official exercise site and instructions are at: https://www.laxnortheast.org/exercises/tsunami

    SoCal Shifting 2022 Exercise: June 17th thru June 19th

    INSTRUCTIONS HERE [PDF]

    FEMA RECCWG Region 4 & Region 6 May 31-June 1 Communications Outage Exercise

    May 17, 2022: for FEMA Regions 4 and 6:
    All,
    Below are the Winlink instructions for the FEMA RECCWG Region 4 and Region 6, May 31–June 1 Communications Outage Exercise.
    In addition to Winlink (SHARES and amateur radio) providing a Field Situation Report with “ground Truth” information over VHF/UHF/HF radio or Telnet, FYI, the following will also be exercised by the various States in these two Regions with FEMA:
    • FNARS (FEMA National Emergency Radio System)
    • NAWAS (National Warning System)
    • MSAT G2 (Multi-State Satellite talk groups)
    • Multi-State linking of P25 Trunking Networks.

    INSTRUCTIONS:

    Instructions for FEMA RECCWG Region 4 & Region 6 Communications Outage Exercise, May 31 thru June 1 [PDF]
    If you haven't already signed-up for Email Updates, please do!
    Sign Up here:   Groups.IO Mailing list for EmComm-Training

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