Diamond Bar : Disaster Readiness Funds

Concerned about a potential lapse in services in the event of a disaster, members of the Diamond Bar Amateur Radio Society are seeking $3,000 for a radio repeater station that would ensure communication among residents and emergency workers, said Charles Majus, president of the group. Because of the hills surrounding the unincorporated community, Los Angeles County disaster information warns that a major earthquake could leave Diamond Bar without services for a minimum of 72 hours, he said.

The ham radio group, which has about 25 licensed members from Diamond Bar, Walnut and Pomona, would place the repeater station on the eastern ridge of the Country Estate hills where it could receive walkie-talkie signals as well as transmit messages to emergency workers, Majus said. While the problem of interrupted county services is not unique to Diamond Bar, he said, the community is particularly vulnerable because it has no hospitals or paramedics of its own.