Community Radio Kept Broadcasting Live As Fani Roared Outside

Bhubaneswar: A small team of broadcasters kept informing people and updating them about the exact situation, even as the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani devastated Bhubaneswar on Friday. The broadcasters kept advising listeners what to do and how to protect themselves from the impact of the storm.

The information was provided through a Community Radio station of SOA Deemed to be University, ‘Voice of SOA Community 90.4’, which worked round-the-clock from Thursday evening, said RJ Shabnam of the Community Radio. “We were completely immersed with the task of informing people and creating awareness as to how to remain safe in the face of such a devastating cyclone,” she said.

The live broadcast commenced around 6pm on Thursday, when Fani was a few hundred kilometres from the Puri coast, and continued till 6pm on Friday, advising people how to prepare themselves to face the situation and provided dos and don’ts as the cyclone passed by. Telephone lines were kept open in the studio for people to send in information and seek help during any emergency.

A recorded interview by Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu, eminent meteorologist and director of the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of the SOA Deemed to be University, containing inputs about the impending cyclone and other necessary details, was broadcast on Wednesday and Thursday to update people about the situation before the cyclone made landfall.

According to a press release from SOA Deemed to be University, live feed from reporters on the ground was also broadcast along with “awareness jingles” about Fani.

RJ Shabnam apart the team included RJ Ramaballav, RJ KP and RJ Gaur while estate officer Suresh Nayak, sound engineer Satya Ranjan Swain and Pabitra Kumar Sahu provided technical support.