Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.
Carlos notes:
There’s no better place than AM and FM stations to get local news. I am a die-hard shortwave fan, but it’s on medium wave and frequency modulation that I stay informed about what is happening in my region. So, I decided to follow some news reports from radio stations based in Rio Grande do Sul as the state faces the onset of the El Niño phenomenon in 2026—an event experts had predicted.
The stations I listened to were:
- Rádio Bandeirantes, Porto Alegre (94.9 FM)
- Rádio Gaúcha, Porto Alegre (93.7 FM)
- Rádio Independente, Lajeado (91.7 FM)
- Tua Rádio, Caxias do Sul (560 AM)
- Rádio Pampa, Porto Alegre (97.5 FM)
These events unfolded just as the population of Rio Grande do Sul was still trying to recover from the trauma of the massive 2024 flood, which devastated numerous municipalities and inundated parts of the state capital, Porto Alegre, where I live.
Downtown Porto Alegre, May 2024.
Naturally, this topic took up significant airtime on these stations. In the case of Rádio Independente in Lajeado—a municipality in a region hit by the recent high waters and severely battered by the 2024 flood—coverage was minute-by-minute. This highlights the fundamental role of radio—something I always like to emphasize—as it relays alerts, provides updates on river levels and flooded areas, and interviews authorities. I had visited Lajeado on June 12, 2024, to document the aftermath of the climate catastrophe that ravaged parts of the city, and I returned two years later, on July 23, 2026, to assess the damage from this latest flood. It’s a personal matter for me, as I was an eyewitness to this tragedy.
Lajeado, June 2024
Lajeado, July 2026
Today, July 28, 2026, the broadcaster Tua Rádio reported on the damage caused by a storm that struck the municipality of Caxias do Sul, detailing the various public services disrupted by the loss of electricity, telephone lines, and the Internet. The presenter even took the time to explain the Beaufort scale, which was used to classify the storm winds that hit the area.
She also advised listeners: “Keep an ear on the radio.”
Once again, we arrive at a conclusion that all of us radio enthusiasts know by heart: everything fails… except the battery-powered radio! Power goes out, phone lines go down, and the Internet cuts out, but people can always rely on their battery-powered radios—something people in Spain, Portugal, and Chile also know well, having faced widespread blackouts in 2025.
The radio monitoring was conducted in Porto Alegre using two receivers: the Xhdata D808 and the Ecopower EP-F23B (the latter equipped with a flashlight and a solar panel).
That’s why I must insist: climate change is already knocking at our door. We need to prepare for the times ahead. And even though we are living through all the modern marvels of the 21st century—with AI and everything else—at the end of the day, what will save us is a battery-powered radio and a pack of candles.
Here’s the illustrated radio listening report.
