Flood­ing in India — update
The cri­sis caused by the dev­as­tat­ing flood in north­ern India last week claim­ing about 900 lives, is con­tin­u­ing to receive help relief through mes­sages from ama­teur radio sta­tions in the affect­ed area.
Jayu S. Bhide VU2JAU, Nation­al Coor­di­na­tor for Dis­as­ter com­mu­ni­ca­tion in India, said two sta­tions have used 7073 MHz and 14.160 MHz and a relief team of four will con­tin­ue their com­mend­able work.
The mes­sages they han­dle are relayed by radio ama­teurs to oth­er areas and author­i­ties, includ­ing hams in Gwalior, Cal­cut­ta, New Del­hi, Vado­dra, Ker­ala and Hyderabad.
A fur­ther list of ready sta­tions to go to the area has been drawn up and may be involved lat­er on if requested.
The emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tion abil­i­ty of ama­teur radio has received good pub­lic­i­ty on tele­vi­sion and in newspapers.
The unex­pect­ed heavy mon­soon rains affect­ed pil­grims and tourists in the holy area in the foothills of the Himalayas on the Indo-Tibet border.
— Jim Lin­ton VK3PC, Chair­man IARU Region 3 Dis­as­ter Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Com­mit­tee, with help from Indi­a’s Nation­al Coor­di­na­tor for Dis­as­ter Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Jayu Bhide VU2JAU.