Part of the KTWR antenna array (Photo: Trans World Radio Facebook page).

KTWR & KSDA: LIMITED SCHEDULE
AFTER TYPHOON MAWAR

If you have been wondering why KTWR has been missing from many frequencies over the past 48 hours, one look at the destruction of some of the antenna arrays will tell you why! The Trans World Radio station on the Pacific island of Guam has seen some significant damage to its infrastructure following the passing of Typhoon Mawar.

The TWR Facebook page posted this report two days ago:

Typhoon Mawar has left the Pacific island of Guam, and as we’ve shared previously, TWR staff and their families stayed safe.

However, damage to the facilities of KTWR, our shortwave station on the island, was worse than originally believed, and members of our TWR family on Guam are in the midst of a difficult situation. Challenging days lie ahead, and your prayer support is greatly needed.

Grant Hodgins, station director at KTWR, and two key members of the team were able to reach the station on Thursday morning. Although it was still too windy for a close inspection, it was apparent that all five of our antennas sustained damage, Hodgens reported.

KTWR uses shortwave signals to reach a large swath of Asia with the gospel message, and because of the nature of shortwave, the programs are aired at night. But for the third night in a row, KTWR was unable to broadcast on Thursday night.

The team planned to regather at 9 a.m. Friday – 7 p.m. Thursday in the Eastern U.S. – to determine next steps. A key issue will be Antenna 1, which is a total loss, Hodgins said.

The families of TWR personnel are all accounted for and are doing okay. Still, most have no power or water. So staff on Thursday were focused primarily on caring for their families.

To be sure, the impact could have been much worse. As the typhoon approached Guam, the southern section that includes KTWR was in line for a direct hit. We asked for prayer, you responded, and we watched in wonder as our Father pushed the storm northward at the last minute. We sustained a glancing blow instead of a direct hit.

But a glancing blow from a Category 4 storm is a serious matter. Please continue to be in prayer for our TWR family on Guam and the 173,000 residents of the island, all of whom have been affected. Please also pray that we’ll soon be able to resume programming to the listeners across Asia for whom TWR is a spiritual lifeline.

KSDA UPDATE:

My colleague, Jose Jacob VU2JOS in India is an official monitor for Adventist World Radio. has been keeping close tabs on the situation with constant monitoring of most KSDA transmissions (AWR programming). He has received a message from the station:

"While during this season A23 some towers on KSDA are on maintenance (2 Antennas are down), through the Cyclone other 2 Antennas were damaged. We could broadcast only with 1 Antenna. We hope till next Weekend we can be on air and run our schedule regular as it was before. "

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE! As of May 29, Jose advises that KSDA now has two antennas back on air, which is really good news.

Jose has provided an informative list of the services that are either still operating or not on air as of May 29. Check out his list at: https://qsl.net/vu2jos/KSDA_Mawar.pdf.

I will keep you updated as we know more about the status of both KTWR and KSDA services to Asia.

73 and good DX,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW