Amateur radio operators have played a significant part in disaster management and emergencies . In 1991 , during the Gulf War , a lone Indian ham operator in Kuwait , provided the only means of communication between stranded Indian nationals in that country and their relatives in India . Amateur radio operators have also played a helpful part in disaster management . Shortly after the 1993 Latur and 2001 Gujarat earthquakes , the central government rushed teams of ham radio operators to the epicentre to provide vital communication links . In December 2004 , a group of amateur radio operators on DX-pedition on the Andaman Islands witnessed the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami . With communication lines between the islands severed , the group provided the only way of relaying live updates and messages to stations across the world
1993 Latur
1993 Latur earthquake
Amateur radio in India