Friday, April 26, 2013

Chinese Hams Help After Quake


A powerful earthquake - measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale - struck China's Sichuan province on the morning of April 20, resulting in nearly 200 deaths, more than 11,000 injuries and an estimated $3 billion in damages. This is the same region in which a massive quake five years ago killed more than 90,000 people. Ham radio operators from the Chinese Radio Sports Association and the Chinese Radio Amateur Club immediately went into action, providing emergency communications on both HF and VHF, according to WorldRadio Online Newsfront and other sources. The FM repeater in hard-hit Ya'an City was still functioning after the quake and carried much of the local radio traffic. Hams were also pressed into service to provide traffic control to speed the delivery of emergency supplies.