LEWES- Downed power lines and no cell phone service in parts of the South have emergency officials saying that ham radio is one of the few forms of communication left to use.

Dick Drevo of Lewes is one of the thousands of licensed radio operators nationwide who are available to help with the Hurricane Katrina disaster. 

Drevo is operating a ham radio system from his house to help with any communication that needs to be relayed to Delaware.

"If there are any calls from the affected area to the state of Delaware, I would take the traffic and pass it on," Drevo said. "The traffic could be something as simple as someone down there passing on a cell phone number and having me call someone up here to advise them they are OK."

Drevo said his involvement with disaster relief efforts is nothing new.

"Back in 1967 we had a very bad Alaskan earthquake and I was on the air at an American Red Cross radio station similar to this, providing health and welfare information," he said.

Drevo said his radio set-up might look small but can definitely make a huge difference.

"My particular radio station does have emergency power back up, therefore when the phone lines go down and the power goes off, we have the capability to provide emergency services," he said.

The city of Lewes just approved an organization called the "Radio Civil Emergency Service" to help with disasters like Hurricane Katrina. That organization plans to be ready to go by the end of the year.