The Edgecumbe Earthquake

At 1:42pm on Monday 2nd March, 1987 the Eastern Bay of Plenty was shook by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.  The earthquake plunged the Eastern Bay in to a major civil defence emergency and1XX became THE information station for the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

 

The faultline - 1987 Edgecumbe Earthquake

Following the earthquake, 1XX was off air for around 30 - 40 minutes.   This was due to the land line connection from the transmitter mast near Whakatane Airport back to the studio in town failing.  Technician Kel Rimmer worked hard to rig up a radio link from the transmitter back to the station to get 1XX back on the air to inform the entire region about what was happening.

March 2, Richter Scale Reading

When 1XX evenutally got back on the air, heading the broadcasts to keep the region informed and up to date from back in the main studios was 10am - 2pm announcer Cliff Stockwell & News Editor Chris Bullen.

Chris Bullen