Port-au-Prince , Haiti ( CNN ) -- In the aftermath of Haiti 's devastating earthquake , a small radio station became an informational lifeline for people in Port-au-Prince and beyond . The radio station , Signal FM , managed to stay on the air during the earthquake , leaving music playing while its employees fled the building . The station 's studios and broadcasting tower withstood the 7.0-magnitude quake , and with electricity provided by multiple generators , it became one of the few places stunned Haitians could turn for information and directions in the following days . `` We say that the only way communicate with the people and the world to is to stay on , '' station manager Mario Viau told CNN . `` And we stayed on . '' Signal FM has stayed on the air throughout the nearly two weeks since the quake , though occasionally broadcasting at reduced power . At first , it had only three days of fuel to keep its generators going , but the Haitian government and private organizations contributed more . Interactive map of where to find aid , hospitals in Haiti . Viau said he went on the air shortly after the earthquake , telling listeners `` that we have been hit by an earthquake , and , you know ... say the radio station is there . We gon na talk to you . '' The station quickly organized a panel discussion with reporters , talking about what happened and getting dire reports from the surrounding city . `` People would come , and say I have this problem ... people are dead this way , why do n't you send somebody that way . That was the first day , '' Viau said . `` The second day , they were saying we need water there , we need doctor there , we need food there . That 's how it started . '' The station 's broadcast signal reaches about 3 million people around Port-au-Prince . And it has international reach via the Internet , allowing people to get messages to relatives all over the world . `` Somebody would call and say if you 're alive , come in front of Signal FM [ and ] I 'll meet you at this time , '' Viau said . Others have used it to inform search-and-rescue workers about sites where people may still be buried alive , as well as food and water distribution sites . People now bring letters and notes to the station to be read on air . One woman went on the air , out of desperation , to ask for help in finding her husband . When it worked , Viau got the bear-hug of a lifetime from the man . `` You should have seen him . He was almost choking me , '' Viau said . Radio is a powerful tool in a country with a literacy rate of about 62 percent , according to UNICEF . And with tens of thousands of people now living in tents or makeshift shelters , aid agencies have been distributing portable radios to keep them in touch . CNN iReport : Looking for loved ones in Haiti . The U.S. Army has been handing out solar-powered and hand-cranked radios to an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 Haitians now housed at a former golf course in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville . The military will be broadcasting on three different radio stations . `` We 'll pull people out of the audience and we 'll ask , what 's one thing you want to know and what 's going on out there , that we do n't know , '' said 1st Lt. Jeff Wozencraft of the Army 's 82nd Airborne Division . The tents and tarps sprawling across the Petionville green has been sectioned off into communities , with an area to buy food and clothing , and even to get a haircut . Some vendors use car batteries to charge cell phones for 50 cents a pop . One of the tens of thousands now housed here is 22-year-old Louis Richardson , whose mother , father , brothers and sisters died in the quake . Taking shelter under a tree from the stifling heat , he told CNN that Signal FM is `` the most important source of information now . '' But as he spoke , he was n't listening to news . He was listening to `` You Are Not Alone '' by Michael Jackson . A small Port-au-Prince radio station stays on air after the January 12 earthquake , helping people coordinate aid distribution .
Haitian radio station Signal FM says on during , after earthquake . Station has informed listeners where people need food , rescue . Station is `` the most important source of information now , '' Haitian says .