Hats off to Hitz & 4BU

In times of natural disasters, radio comes into its own as a medium, and with the devastating floods that have hit Bundaberg over the past week, Hitz 93.9 and 4BU have played their part.

Following nine days of simulcasting emergency and flood information to Wide Bay, both Hitz and 4BU have returned to individual programming today.

The announcers from both brands have been rotating, and broadcasting live 24 hours a day during the floods, and the subsequent clean-up. 

In addition to the on-air programming, the stations have been very active on social media with Facebook 'likes' doubling in the week since the floods.

General Manager Trish Mears commented;

“we had many of our own staff cut off by flood waters and it made sense to use those who were available on rotating shows by combining both stations to add to  our efforts”.

Emergency broadcasts began after a number of tornadoes swept through the region, followed by a 9.5m flood peak for the Burnett River. The stations themselves were in an evacuation zone, and the photos below shows just how close the floods came.
 

pictured above: Johanna from Hitz FM reporting on location.

pictured below: Brendan and Pete on-air on the simulcast across 4BU and Hitz

also below: an aerial shot of the Hitz FM and 4BU studio complex