Amateur Radio Links Earthquake-Stricken Island with Outside World
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 30, 2005--Working under harsh conditions, Indonesian Amateur Radio Emergency Service (IARES) volunteers have established VHF links between earthquake-stricken Nias Island and northern Sumatra. Organization of Amateur Radio for Indonesia (ORARI) headquarters in Jakarta this week called on all ORARI members to be ready to assist Nias Island--hit March 28 by magnitude 8.2 and 8.7 earthquakes--and to secure both VHF and HF frequencies for emergency traffic. An ORARI team now has set up at the Indonesian Public TV tower near Gunung Sitoli, the largest city on Nias Island, and now is in contact the ORARI District 6 command post in Medan in Sumatra. The ORARI team that helicoptered in March 29 already had experience supporting communication following the December 2004 tsunami that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.
In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, IARES members reportedly were on duty with little or no food to eat, although they did have drinking water. At that point, many victims had not yet been evacuated, and some remained trapped in the debris. More than 1000 people are reported to have died as a result of the earthquakes. The tremors affected some of the same areas as the December earthquake and tsunami. Although officials and residents remained on alert for possible tsunamis this week, none have occurred.
ORARI team members include Zulkarman Syafrin, YC6PLG, Herman Rangkuti, YC6IQ, and Soejat Harto, YB6HB--a medical doctor. Syafrin reports that the earthquake damaged the power, telecommunication and transportation infrastructure or took them out altogether on Nias island. Buildings in Gunung Sitoli were reportedly flattened and roads severely damaged or impassable. The team has been using portable generators, but to conserve scarce fuel it's been restricting contact off the island to every two hours. ORARI District 6/Northern Sumatra Chairman T. Awal Ali, YB6HA, has pledged to supply more logistical and radio equipment, while Ady Susanto, YB6VK, in Medan, is preparing a set of solar cells for use by the IARES team in Gunung Sitoli.
The March 28 quakes--and several smaller tremors--shook Sumatra Island and many smaller islands surrounding it, including Nias--the closest island to the epicenter. A magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred in the same vicinity on March 30.--Wyn Purwinto, AB2QV
Page last modified: 10:13 AM, 31 Mar 2005 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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