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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.
The Earthquake Scene in Nepal
The Earthquake Disaster
We interrupt the regular flow of topics here in our weekly DX program Wavescan to bring you the latest available information regarding the massive, tragic earthquake in the Himalayan country of Nepal. We also express our sympathies to the people of Nepal who have lost so many of their loved ones, friends and acquaintances, and who now have such an overwhelming task in re-establishing their lives in a devastated land.
Just before midday local time on Saturday morning, April 25, a massive earthquake suddenly and without warning struck cities, villages and rural areas throughout the country of Nepal, even rocking the stalwart Mount Everest. So widespread was the intensive damage that people living in nearby areas in the neighboring countries of India and China, Bangladesh and Bhutan also suffered significant damage. Some six million people throughout the Himalayan areas have been affected by the massive devastation; the death toll in the multi-thousands is still climbing, and double that number have been injured.
Much of the capital city, Kathmandu, is either badly damaged or lying in complete ruin. Throughout the earthquake-ravaged areas, most of the villages have suffered similar damage and in many cases, entire towns and villages are lying in total devastation, without a single home anywhere still standing intact.
Almost the entire population in the ravaged areas are endeavoring to live outdoors in order to escape injury from the high intensity aftershocks, some of which are in themselves a massive earthquake of shock intensity. And intensifying the major problems faced by the survivors is the heavy downpour of rains throughout the area.
Regular life is at a standstill throughout Nepal, with shops and restaurants closed, major communication facilities now out of action, and electricity no longer generally available. The flow of water is almost non-available, food is in short supply, and safe accommodation is almost non-existent.
As would be expected, aid is flowing in on a massive scale from many different countries and many different organizations. India has already flown in rescue teams and provisions, as also have China and Israel and the United States and England and Pakistan and Norway and Australia, and so many others. In addition, many relief organizations are cooperating in providing assistance to the needy people of Nepal, and these would also include religious organizations, both Catholic and Protestant and Jewish, as well as well-known independent organizations such as the Red Cross, CARE, Save the Children and World Vision.
The distribution of relief supplies is also very difficult in Nepal due to the fact that there is only one major airport in the country, and also to the major damage sustained by the few reliable roads in the rural areas. The airport has run out of parking space for incoming planes, and some have been diverted to places outside Nepal. In addition, gas stations are running out of gas because tanker trucks are unable to reach many of the gas stations due to such widespread damage to the country's infrastructure.
The government has closed all schools for at least this past week, and they asked government employees to assist in relief endeavors throughout the capital city and other devastated areas. Helicopters are being used to rescue the wounded and also to ferry in relief supplies. All hospitals and medical clinics are overwhelmed with more patients than they can handle, both indoors as well as outside under hastily erected tents.
The epicenter of the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 was located 40 miles east of the city of Kathmandu and 9 miles deep underground. More than 100 aftershocks have been located north of and around Kathmandu itself, including at least one with a magnitude of 6.7. The initial shock occurred just before midday and lasted about a minute.
On Mount Everest, expedition parties have been afflicted, with many deaths recorded due to a massive wall of ice falling off the mountainside and racing downhill, as well as from multiple avalanches caused by the shaking ground. More than 200 expeditioners have been plucked off the mountainous Everest areas by helicopter. This has been the deadliest disaster in the history of the mountain.
At the time of the initial shock from the earthquake in Nepal on Saturday morning, the staff at the Adventist hospital in Nepal were attending their local worship service. It is understood that most of the Christians in Nepal were at worship on Saturday morning due to the fact that Saturday is an off day, and Sunday is a regular working day throughout their country.
The hospital staff quickly sprang to work, and like all other medical facilities throughout the country, they have since been overwhelmed in caring for injured survivors, both indoors and under temporary shelters outdoors. The three story Adventist hospital building itself sustained almost no damage.
The Adventist Scheer Memorial Hospital is located near Banepa; it was constructed on a small plateau overlooking the nearby village and the surrounding countryside. The open area in front of the hospital was for many years the staging ground for Everest expeditions at the beginning of the Everest Trail, up until the time when the Everest Base Camp was constructed much nearer to the mountain itself.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) reports that their head office building in Kathmandu is undamaged. Their staff has been deployed to the areas of major damage and is involved in relief measures for the stricken survivors. The Adventist church has more than 100 congregations throughout Nepal, and at least four Adventist church buildings were damaged.
Media Response
World news media have given widespread coverage to the earthquake disaster in Nepal, with TV and radio news teams flying in from other countries. The Nepal earthquake has been the first item in the news headlines of all international news broadcasts on radio and television.
It is known that at least three TV interviews were interrupted by the Nepal Earthquakes. At the time of the original shock, there was a live interview on ETV in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The visitor quickly exited the TV studio. The TV hostess, even though the interview was in the Bengali language, declared in English, "and that's it!"
At the time of the 6.7 aftershock, the BBC was recording a television interview. The visitor was caught by surprise by the aftershock; she quickly apologized for her immediate disappearance, and she sped out to a safety area. At the same time, Justin Rowlatt was conducting a street remote and he demonstrated his surprise and consternation at the aftershock.
The Information Minister in the government of Nepal, Mr. Minendra Rijal addressed the nation through the network of TV stations throughout Nepal, though it is suggested that very few watched the program. No electricity in so many places, and so many areas badly damaged.
Throughout Nepal there are 350 radio stations including 36 in Kathmandu itself, and the current issue of the World Radio TV Handbook lists 600 FM transmitters, 6 mediumwave transmitters, and one on shortwave. However, current information lists only one radio station with any form of earthquake preparedness. The building housing the Ujyaalo Network has been constructed to withstand an earthquake shock, and they also built up an emergency facility in a nearby basement with studio and transmitter for use if needed.
International radio monitor Alokesh Gupta in New Delhi reported on the day of the earthquake that live streaming from Radio Nepal was no longer available, though the information could be obtained from their website. He reported that four of the mediumwave transmitters in Nepal were noted on the air, but not Dhankuta with 100 kW on 648 kHz, nor Dipayal with 10 kW on 810 kHz.
However, on the next day, Sunday, all six of the mediumwave transmitters were noted on air and they were running the same programing on relay from the network headquarters in Kathmandu. He stated also that the internet was not operative in Kathmandu.
The 100 kW shortwave transmitters at Radio Nepal seem to be still inoperative, due to technical faults. According to Anker Petersen in Denmark, Radio Nepal has been off the air shortwave since 2010.
In a special message to Wavescan, Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, at the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Hyderabad, India, stated next day that he was already on his way to Nepal with other members of the emergency communication team. He stated that their earthquake emergency frequency is 14160 kHz USB.
We might add that Adventist World Radio is on the air with programming beamed to Nepal. A daily half hour broadcast in the Nepali language can be heard on 15525 kHz beginning at 1500 UTC. This AWR program relay is carried by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation with a shortwave transmitter operating at 125 kW at Trincomalee. In addition, AWR programing in the Nepali language is heard daily over a network of 13 FM stations throughout Nepal.
Trans World Radio KTWR on Guam began a new series of hour-long broadcasts to Nepal on Monday, April 27 at 1345 UTC with 100 kW on 15280 kHz. Initially this programming is in English, though they plan to introduce programs in the Nepali language as soon as possible.