At this stage, we are not aware of just what radio coverage has been obtained throughout Haiti
in the aftermath of their massive and destructive earthquake. However, we are aware that radio has been used on other occasions in the wake of a massive earthquake, and one of those occasions was in New Zealand way back in the year 1931. This is what happened.
It was at 10:47 am in the morning of Tuesday February 3, in the said year 1931, that a heavy earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale struck the small coastal town of Napier on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island. It was a very destructive earthquake, lasting only 2½ minutes, and to this day it is remembered as the worst natural disaster in the history of their country.
The entire small city was almost completely destroyed, and ten acres of the commercial area just simply collapsed. The tramlines running through the city and the suburban areas were all buckled by the force of the earthquake and the trams (street cars) were abandoned where ever they stood. Nearby rivers changed their course and an area of land sixty miles long and ten miles wide was raised up seven feet higher. A nearby lagoon was completely drained and it became the site for the local airport. Aftershocks numbering 525, some quite strong, continued for two weeks.
It so happened that the Royal Navy vessel, Veronica, arrived at the Napier wharf at 2:00 am on earthquake day and it was tied up at berth at the time when the destructive earthquake struck. When the ground level heaved and swayed, and rose up seven feet, the water drained out of the harbor and left the Veronica standing upright in deep mud. However, shortly afterwards, the seawater returned, and the navy vessel was only slightly damaged.
With electricity out, the normal communication facilities in Napier were no longer usable and so the Veronica took over and provided the initial communications from the disaster area. These communications were made with Naval headquarters at Devonport, Auckland and they were transmitted on radio in Morse Code.
Soon afterwards, additional communications were established when two cargo vessel that were anchored out in the bay volunteered their assistance. These commercial vessels, the Northumberland & Taranaki, were loading cargo at the time.
Next day, two additional Royal navy cruisers, Dunedin & Diomede, arrived offshore at Napier, and their crews, together with the crews from the other vessels in the area, aided the stricken population on shore.
An amateur radio operator drove in from a nearby town and also assisted in providing radio communication with the usage of his station, ZL2XP. He set up his equipment in his Chevy car for a couple of days, using a nearby flagpole to support the antenna system.
A few days later, technicians from the government P & T service were able to re-establish the government operated communication systems, and the temporary usage of the radio facilities aboard the naval vessels and cargo ships was no longer necessary.
However, while the Veronica was heading up all communications with the outside world, numerous news items for publication were flashed out in Morse Code from the ship’s radio. These messages were of course intended for publication in newspapers throughout New Zealand and they were also broadcast as news items for worldwide coverage from station ZLW, the 1 kW communication terminal in the national capital, Wellington.
Over in suburban Sydney in Australia, the well known AWA transmitter VK2ME broadcast the information to the world in news bulletins and commentaries, and these were picked up by shortwave W2XAF at Schenectady in New York and passed on to mediumwave WGY for network coverage throughout the United States.
(NWS48/Adrian Peterson/AWR)