Radio amateurs make history in B.C. disaster drill, play key role: minister
COBBLE HILL, B.C. — When every way of communicating was cut off during an earthquake exercise on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, amateur radio operators were the first to step in with a call for help to the outside world.
Telephone lines, cellular and wireless communications were knocked out in the simulated scenario, but volunteer ham radio operators managed to contact a Canadian Forces long-range patrol aircraft flying over the Rockies to broadcast rescue information.
“There’s the old amateur radio saying that when everything else fails, there’s amateur radio,” said Steve Bradshaw, president of the Cowichan Valley Amateur Radio Society, who participated in the $1.2 million government exercise earlier this month with about a dozen other radio operators.
Naomi Yamamoto, B.C.’s emergency preparedness minister, said the operators made history by communicating directly with the Canadian Forces aircraft on amateur radio frequencies. She said the radio volunteers proved their worth as a vital lifeline during a disaster.