CMAA Member Stations are acting with wisdom, diligence and resilience in response to warnings of Cyclone Alfred’s impact.
This week, CMAA Member Stations in South East QLD and Northern NSW have been heeding warnings and making preparations for the impact on their audiences, their teams, and their broadcast operations.
Cyclone Alfred warnings began on Monday, with predictions of hitting Brisbane and surrounds on Wednesday, the first of it's kind to hit this region in over 50 years. Schools, Transport Services and Airports began closing mid-week and flood prone areas were issued with evacuation orders. While the cyclone's arrival has since slowed, the storm effects have already caused wind damage, coastal erosion and power outages.
On this World Day of Prayer, we're asking our community to join in prayer for our Member stations, that they remain safe, that they can continue to support their listeners and viewers, and that their buildings, equipment and broadcast operations remain free from damage or disruption during the storm.
Brisbane stations 96five and Vision Christian Media have encouraged staff to work from home since Thursday, with the lessons from COVID providing the structure and technology to do so. On-air presenters can broadcast from any quiet room in their homes with inexpensive kits, to keep offering listeners companionship, prayer and words of hope, reminding them of God’s presence and His peace.
96five's Arthur Muhl shared that his team is continuing to show support by, "speaking with authenticity, heart and compassion." Listeners are already responding with gratitude expressing that the continued updates are, "like having a friend over, listening to good music, and getting the occasional update without being overwhelmed.’’
'Robbo' from Vision says they've been encouraging prayer for those regions (like Lismore) who are 'in the thick of it', and gaining insights from disaster relief agency Convoy of Hope. As an Australia wide Narrowcast Network, they are however looking at the possibility of many repeater stations going down, potentially resulting in a big repair job for their Technicians over the coming weeks.
Cyclone Alfred has postponed station fundraising appeals originally planned for 96five and Salt 106.5 this week. Salt's Station Manager Elisha Jurgensen shared, "It has been a long week, shifting from the March Appeal to special cyclone coverage, but team morale remains high. It’s inspiring to see everyone going above and beyond to support the community during this time. The way people are coming together to protect each other’s homes is a testament to their resilience and compassion."
Stephen Wilkinson, Technical Operations Manager for 96five, Salt 106.5 and Juice 107.3 says he and his team have been upgrading the stations' resilience for a number of years - including generators and UPS (batteries), and remote home broadcast capabilities. Thankfully during the relocation and refurbishment of 96five's new Taringa building last November, the broadcast areas were built for maximum stability, and they installed a 6 metre STL tower on the roof that can withstand winds up 180kms. Their shared software integrations have meant that additional broadcasting support can be provided from Salt on the Sunshine Coast to Juice on the Gold Coast.
Juice 107.3's Station Manager Annette McCaslin explains they are currently broadcasting live reports, "from 8am to 12pm but broadcasting from the Salt studio. From 2pm to 4pm [CMAA Board Member] Susie Holt has volunteered her time and is broadcasting from home." Annette says they are encouraging people to reach out via their social media channels with updates or stories, and are contacting different churches, to share with listeners what relief services the churches may have on offer.
In Northern NSW, Damien Fisher, Station Manager of Grafton's FM103.1 says they have had a live cross with their local SES Superintendent every morning this week, and Grafton just been issued a 'stay indoors' release. Damien shared, "On the breakfast program this morning, I had the pleasure of chatting with Premier Chris Minns, who gave a bit of an update but lots of praise for the resilience of the community and the hard work of the volunteers." Damien aims to keep the community up to date with local news bulletins, but suspects pretty soon he will have to "grab the OB gear and set up from home."
TV Broadcaster GOOD is based on the Sunshine Coast, however their national broadcast comes out of Sydney, so they have taken numerous precautions to ensure uninterrupted service for viewers throughout the cyclone event.
General Manager Tim Weatherall explained, "Our facility on the Sunshine Coast also hosts Salt 106.5 and has a large generator that can provide power in an outage to maintain essential services. There is minimal chance of flooding in this location, although water ingress and wind damage are a threat, so we have taken some precautions to minimise risk to the building and essential equipment needed to maintain our service. Our office is shut today, and our team are all working from home where possible to maximise their safety."
How you can pray for our CMAA Communities at this time:
All managers we've talked to today have requested prayer for very similar needs:
- Audience safety, comfort and peace - that these Christian Broadcasting Services will provide support in these stressful times, sharing the right words of comfort and encouragement when needed.
- That staff, volunteers and their families would remain safe and protected.
- That broadcasting services will continue during any upcoming interruptions, or staff ability to monitor and maintain them.
- That equipment, systems, and studios would remain operational and impact free to avoid long term pressure on resources.
"Being part of the CMAA community is a great encouragement, and your prayers truly make a difference. I have no doubt that through this storm, we will see many stories of God’s protection, provision, and love emerge."
- Elisha (Salt 106.5)