Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC), formerly the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, is a service provided by the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) which provides trained radio communicators and communication systems for emergency situations.

Mission statement

"To be the preferred provider for emergency communications to New Zealand emergency services."

Objectives

History

The Amateur Radio Emergency Corps were formed in the aftermath of the Napier earthquake of 1931. Amateur Radio Operators in the area were key in the maintaining of communications between Napier and the outside world, as the Earthquake disabled the Post & Telegraph Department's communication systems. In the months afterward groups of 'Radio Emergency Corps' formed around the country with the purpose of providing the means for radio communication to any part of New Zealand in an emergency. This was eventually nationalised under the NZART. The name was changed to 'Amateur Radio Emergency Communications' in the late 1990s to better reflect the more 'modern' nature of today's communicators.

AREC (disambiguation)

AREC may refer to: