[A-DX] Re: 5020 Honiara

[Martin Elbe <elbe@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Moin Moin,

> Ist 5020 Honiara noch da? Es gab offenbar heftigste Wirbelstürme in  
> der
> Region.
Und wenn sie noch da sind, möchte ich nicht in der Haut des
Stationschefs stecken, der wird jetzt wohl gerade geteert und
gefedert.

Wenn ich mir durchlese, was auf
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,228946,00.html steht...


und dann diesen Bericht von Glenn Hauser:

** SOLOMON ISLANDS. SOLOMONS BROADCASTER REFUSES TO CARRY CYCLONE
WARNINGS UNTIL BILLS ARE PAID | Excerpt from report by Radio New
Zealand International on 27 December

The director of Solomon Islands Emergency and Disaster Management
Office says the country's broadcasting service has prohibited him from
issuing cyclone warnings because of outstanding bills. Lottie Yates
says the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation or SIBC, will not
allow his office to use its radio service because of outstanding bills
for a public awareness campaign on disaster management conducted
last year.

While Vanuatu is the prime target, Cyclone Zoe is forecast to strike
part of the Santa Cruz group, south of Solomon Islands at midnight
Saturday [28 December] with gustily winds of up to 260 km per hour.
Santa Cruz is home to some 1200 people. Mr Yates says the SIBC is not
cooperating with the Disaster Management Office and that it is putting
the lives of those affected at risk.

[Yates] The government has not paid the SIBC 12,000 dollars. As a
result of that, SIBC is not allowing us to give out any warning until
we pay up to 12,000 dollars. We are trying to contact the eastern part
of the Solomon Islands to get just what we can get on information on
weather on that side. Conditions are very bad. [End of recording]

Mr Yates says the Meteorological Office is struggling to get cyclone
information and that it is close to shutting down because of a lack of
funds.

Meanwhile the manager for the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
says everybody should pay for its services even in matters of national
emergency. Johnson Honimae says that while it is the country's public
broadcaster, the government must pay for SIBC services such as cyclone
advisory warnings or approach them to make payment arrangements...

Mr Honimae says the SIBC will broadcast weather updates for free but
if the disaster office wants to issue cyclone warnings then it has to
pay.

[Honimae] We are having to survive on sponsored programmes and
advertising. That is the only way that we have survived. We have been
able to get this thing going because we are charging everybody for
everything but there is no free lunch in this country. The [Disaster]
Management Office knows about this bill even before the cyclone
season. Now when they need it they come crawling or start to criticize
us. We are not going to back down to carry warning messages. I wish I
could do it for free but I can't get my fuel for free, I can't get my
telephones for free. I think the commercial consideration overrides
the public service consideration. Source: Radio New Zealand
International, Wellington, in English 0800 gmt 27 Dec 02 (via BBCM via
WORLD OF RADIO 1163, DXLD) First things first

5019.9, SIBC: Per Wright in ARDXC, SI was hit by cyclone today, but
station was heard as usual, carrying BBC at 1300 (Hans Johnson, Rio
Hondo TX, Dec 30, Cumbre DX via DXLD)

I am not aware of any cyclone hitting Honiara; actually the Solomons
are generally outside the cyclone belt and rarely sees a good blow.
Last was Namu in 1986, I think. Zoe (06P) was headed towards northern
Vanuatu a few days ago and was peaking cat 5 so I had my suitcase
packed (there is quite a lot of commercial activity in Santo) but did
a 90 degree turn in accordance with predictions and tracked down
between Vanuatu and Fiji, now just a fresh breeze
http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/warnings/sh0603.gif
73s gd dx de (Sam Dellit VK4ZSS, Dec 30, ARDXC via DXLD)

Radio Australia has been providing good coverage of the Solomon
Islands cyclone aftermath: see the 'Pacific Beat' page at
http://abc.net.au/ra/pacbeat/focus/PacBeatFocus_755950.htm

The main concerns are for the far-flung islands of Tikopia and Anuta
which are several hundred kilometres from Honiara. Australia has
provided fuel for the Royal Solomon Islands Police patrol boat Auki
which is due to leave Honiara shortly to visit the islands from which
there has been no radio contact since Zoe hit. Some 1300 people live
in the area.

As for comments on the non-response to DX reports and requests for
information from SIBC, a quick dose of reality: the country has been
in a state of deep political and economic crisis for a few years now.
It is a tribute to the determination and commitment of the SIBC staff
that the radio station remains on the air at all. The interests of
overseas radio hobbyists are probably at the bottom of the list of
priorities, although I know from having met SIBC's general manager in
Honiara last year that reception reports from afar are received with
great interest.

This is all sadly a great change from a couple of decades ago. SIBC
was one of my first 'tropical band' reception reports, and I was
delighted to get a full-detail QSL from them within a matter of just
days. Cheers (Matt Francis, DC, Dec 30, ARDXC via DXLD)

--
Tschüß,
Martin

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