DeSoto County EMA

Emergency Communications

DeSoto County EMA Support

ARES, RACES, EMA Reserve, and SKYWARN operators standing watch for every activation.

Meetings • 3rd Tuesday • 7:00 PM
Location • Fairhaven Volunteer Fire Station - Center Hill Rd.
Activation Playbook Volunteer Today

County EOC - Hernando, Mississippi

Activation Ready
24/7
Duty Coverage
146.910
Primary Repeater
-, 107.2 PL
442.800
Linked Repeater
+, 107.2 PL
60+
Credentialed Operators
  • ARES, RACES, EMA Reserve, and SKYWARN integration
  • County liaison desk inside the DeSoto County EOC
  • Weekly readiness nets plus quarterly field deployments

County Readiness Snapshot

Linked ARES, RACES, EMA Reserve, and SKYWARN teams aligned to DeSoto County Emergency Management Agency priorities.

Training Pathways Weekly Nets
ARES
Tier 3

County strike teams for shelter support, logistics convoys, and tactical voice/data.

  • 6 field deployable go-kits
  • Packet & Winlink station
  • Mutual aid liaison
RACES
EOC

County authorized operators for civil defense missions inside the Hernando EOC.

  • ICS-213 routing desk
  • EOC radio room staffing
  • Joint information center feed
EMA Reserve
Support

ARES operators cross trained with EMA Reserve volunteers for shelter and logistics ops.

  • Shelter communications pods
  • Damage assessment escorts
  • Resource tracking
SKYWARN
WX

County-wide mesh of trained storm spotters feeding Memphis NWS and EMA officials.

  • Highway 78 camera pairings
  • Damage relay net
  • Mobile radar liaison

Activation Playbook

  • Alert & Accountability

    Everbridge paging, text roster, and 146.910 MHz alert net triggered by the EMA Duty Officer.

  • EOC Spin-Up

    RACES desk installs within 20 minutes, linking HF, VHF, and Winlink gateways to the state MAC.

  • Field Deployments

    ARES strike teams pair with EMA Reserve shelter leads, trackers, and public works liaisons.

  • Sustainment & Relief

    12-hour operational periods with cross-county relief and Memphis/Shelby mutual aid on request.

County Checklist

What DeSoto EMA Expects

  • Two ICS-213 relays every operational period
  • Live shelter status board via Winlink forms
  • Weather desk tied into NWSChat or phone bridge
  • Damage photography packaged for WebEOC
  • Resource requests logged and closed within 30 minutes
Download Net Control Guide

DeSoto County EMA Partners

We align our comms desk with every branch inside the county Emergency Operations Center.

  • County EMA Director and Duty Officers
  • Public Works, Utilities, and Logistics Chiefs
  • Law Enforcement and Fire/EMS liaisons
  • DeSoto County Schools and shelter managers
  • Mid-South SKYWARN desk at Memphis NWS
County EMA Website

Regional Backstops

When incidents escalate we tap into established mutual-aid circuits:

  • Memphis/Shelby County ARES (TN-04)
  • Mississippi Section Emergency Response Team
  • Northwest Mississippi SKYWARN Liaison
  • American Red Cross Mid-South Chapter
  • Salvation Army SATERN network
Request Mutual Aid Brief

Operational Nets & Frequencies

Net / Channel Frequency & Mode Schedule Purpose
County Alert Net 146.910 MHz (-, 107.2 PL) Daily as needed Initial call-up, accountability, situational reports
DeSoto Tactical 442.800 MHz (+, 107.2 PL) During deployments Field team to EOC coordination
HF Regional 3.862 / 7.238 MHz LSB Statewide roll calls MAC and surrounding counties interoperability
Digital Traffic Relay VARA HF & Mississippi Section packet gateways During activations ICS forms and status reports forwarded through section partners
SKYWARN Net 146.850 MHz (-, 107.2 PL) Activated by NWS Live storm spotter reports and hail/wind data
Deployable Team

Rapid Response Squad

Two-person go-kit teams staged in Olive Branch and Southaven for flash flooding or tornado touchdowns.

  • Portable mast with dual-band antennas
  • Battery and solar for 36 hours
  • Digital interface and rugged tablet
Deployable Team

Shelter Strike Team

Pairs of EMA Reserve members and ARES operators assigned to shelters or points of distribution.

  • County shelter kit with Wi-Fi backup
  • Pre-printed shelter status forms
  • Transportation coordination channel
Deployable Team

Damage Assessment

Mixed teams roving county roads with tablets pushing geo-tagged reports to EMA GIS staff.

  • APRS trackers with breadcrumb logging
  • Camera-ready reporting templates
  • Shared map overlays from EMA GIS

Ready to serve

Join the DeSoto County Emergency Communications Team

Complete the EMA Reserve onboarding, finish ARES Task Book modules, and plug into weekly practice nets to earn an activation credential.

Volunteer Get Training