Ten years ago the Southern England town of Lewes suffered devastating flooding causing residents and local authorities to consider how best to protect the area in the future. This experience makes it ideally suited for a UK disaster response workshop and broadcast field trial led by media charity, Feba Radio, later this month.

Using the scene of the local disaster as its backdrop, Feba Radio will be training some of its UK staff and partners in how to use radio to respond to disasters, culminating in the setting up of an „emergency radio station‟ which will broadcast to the people of Lewes on 3rd and 4th December. The workshop combines background knowledge about radio with the unique environment experienced in disaster relief work and involves the expertise of local government officials. Once trained, the staff will then transfer their skills internationally and help set up new teams in various disaster-prone parts of the world, ready to jump into action the moment disaster strikes.

For several years in Asia, Feba has been leading the way in the use of radio for disaster response as they have found that besides the need for food, shelter and safety, one of the greatest needs is information. Tsunami survivor Pavita remembers this well:

“I didn‟t want to see another cooking pot – I had as many as I would ever need. I wanted to know where my family was going to be living in a month‟s time!”

Three weeks after the 2004 Asian tsunami there was only one thing she wanted: hard facts about her future. Since then Feba has worked with broadcasters in Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to develop “FIRST Response” a project which comprises the needed equipment (including a suitcase studio), a programming system based on the listeners need for critical information and a workshop to teach radio journalists, relief workers and government personnel how to put these into use in the field.

As the scale of the flood disaster in Pakistan unfolds, colleagues from FIRST Response Pakistan and their partners have put together an action plan for response during the crisis, despite disrupted internet access and downed phone lines. They have been in Kashmir to distribute radios to victims, gather fresh programme material, including an interview with the director of State Disaster Management Authority, talks with people in the area about their plight in the flood as well as receiving SMS messages from listeners expressing their concern and grief for victims of the flooding. Programmes are being broadcast on local FM outlets as well as on shortwave.

If you would like to help with the relief effort by enabling us to distribute radios so people can access critical life-saving information from ourselves and our partners, then you can donate through www.sendaradio.org.

Me, Charles and Mike at AIB awards in London

At a glittering ceremony in London last night, Feba’s “Chrysolite” studio in a suitcase was one of five entries short-listed for an Association of International Broadcasters award under the category of ‘most innovative technology’.  Well it didn’t win, but getting to that stage is a pretty good effort and the fact that it is currently running an emergency radio station in Padang following the earthquake, shows its importance to people in hard places.

The winner  was France 24 who had pioneered a way of getting news onto the iPhone.   Interesting… I thought delivering news onto the iPhone had been around a while.  Ah well…

But when it comes to innovative technology… I think all the awards pail into insignificance with this delightful bit of local improvisation - Africa’s answer to the walkman.

Ambacang hotel Padang. Pic: Toby Zerna. Courtesy AAP

As the scale of Wendesday’s earthquake in West Sumatra unfolds, a small team from FEBC, already in Indonesia for a FIRST Response trial and workshop, is heading to Padang to set up an emergency radio response.  FIRST Response is a ministry of FEB Radio International designed to set up an emergency radio station within 72 hours of a disaster.  Studies show that following a disaster, where communications infrastructure is often destroyed, radio can save lives, providing essential information and life-saving messages.  Feba deployed a FIRST Response team to Bihar, North India, during the widespread floods there in October 2008.

“Not only do I see the potential of radio in disaster mitigation, I can see it has huge potential for community development in India,” says Saji Varghese, a World Vision manager in the emergency response unit, who was a participant of the FIRST Response workshop and trial. Radio Ungal , 98.4FM, the Tamil FM station finally went off air at 3.30pm on Monday afternoon, 30th June, but the shortwave programmes in Hindi, Bangla and English continued until Friday 4th July. 

Enduring very hot humid weather and working with little sleep, the team successfully got the disaster response radio on air, distributed leaflets and radios in the community, interviewed listeners over the phone and in person. They broadcast throughout the 3-day trial period over FM and short wave. The trial has been a great success. The team have accomplished all of the objectives.

VIEW SLIDESHOW FROM TRIAL