The BBC's website has the following text accompanying the photo above:
Tavurvur volcano erupts sending ash and rocks over the already devastated city of Rabaul on New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea. The volcano erupted on Saturday, causing some 2,000 residents to flee as lava flowed from the caldera into Simpson Harbour.Some years ago, before the last solar sunspot maximum when long distance radio goes dead and before three years in compact living where the RF was on the otherside of the steel and concrete shell, I used to listen to Radio Australia's South Pacific service in the middle of the night as blizzards were whipping our colander of a farmhouse to confirm somewhere it was sunny and warm. As I waited for the weather reports, I was struck how I know nothing about the news they were talking about - conflict in Fiji or Papua New Guinea, an eruption like the above. The same was true listening to music on All India Radio or Radio Ghana's northern domestic service on a late afternoon in autumn. We are now, however at solar minimum and maybe I wil take this up again as I did around 1978 to 1985 and 1992 to 1998. Consider SPEEDX as a good entry point.
Comments
Flea - October 9, 2006 8:46 PM
My best ever shortwave score was a couple nights of listening to Vatican Radio. Some enthusiastic chap was assuring listeners that "wise men in Rome" were on the problems of the day. Now I listen to radio from wherever through the miracle of the internet; including, I should note, Australian radio book review chats and the like.
Alan - October 9, 2006 9:14 PM
<img src="images/2006f/radionews.jpg" align="right" vspace="10" hspace="10">I can't give up the dice roll that is atmospheric propagation. While I do go on, I am an internet radio hog of the highest order but it's mainly NPR - though BBC Scotland is a second favorite. There is sometihng about hearing a drive home show saying there is a traffic jam in my mother's village that makes my day.
This December will be one of the best opportunities to catch broadcast foreign domestic shortwave that'll never make the internet, that being the middle of the solar minimum and the best part of the year. You can catch regional Chinese radio over the Arctic circle. But I might presume to suggest that a DXpedition is not likely in the future for Dr. Flea.
Ray Vanzuyden - October 31, 2006 11:50 PM
I am a Volunteer with Australian Business Volunteers and was on assignment in Rabaul as this happened, the above Photo was taken by me at about 8.45am on the day Tavurvur erupted. I have many more dramatic photographs of the day before and after this event.
It was an awesome experience to be there as it happened, the explosive noises were as if a Naval Invasion Force had just arrived bombarding Rabaul. Buildings were vibrating, ceilings were bending,windows were blowing out and doors were continiously moving in and out as the explosions were about 10-15 seconds apart till about 4.30pm in the afternoon. The ash fallout was fairly extensive in Rabaul and more in Kokopo, fortunately most of the ash moved away from East New Britain. Unfortunately there was one fatality but very few injuries. Three weeks after the eruption Tavurvur was still spasmodically active with small eruptions and light ash falls.
Ray Vanzuyden.
Alan - November 1, 2006 7:04 AM
Neato, Ray. Is there actually a community in that picture?