FCC: Hurricane Michael Takes Out 30 FM, 4 AM Stations

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, October 12, 2018

The Federal Communications Commission continues to assess the damage across 101 counties in Florida, Georgia and Alabama from Hurricane Michael and is reporting 30 FM stations out of service, while 61 FM outlets reported as operational. Three FM translators and four AM facilities are off the air, while 18 AM stations are still operational. 18.8% of wireless towers were offline. The numbers are likely to climb as FCC data collected from stations are from those able to report their status, which could omit many Florida stations.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement, "Data from the FCC's Disaster Information Reporting System shows that Hurricane Michael caused substantial communications outages along its destructive path. Staff from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau reached out to representatives of carriers and broadcasters to discuss the situation on the ground and how to restore service as quickly as possible In particular, we were pleased that carriers had pre-positioned equipment and were in the process deploying cells on wheels (COWs) and cells on light trucks (COLTs) in order to get wireless service up and running in many locations."

"In the hours and days ahead, the FCC will continue to work with our federal partners and the private sector to ensure that communications services are restored in those areas affected by Hurricane Michael. Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted by this historic storm."

For more information about the FCC's actions related to Hurricane Michael, please visit www.fcc.gov/michael.