Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio (TWR) has struggled to stay on the air after its shortwave broadcasts from the Pacific island of Guam were hit by severe storms.

TWR President Lauren Libby told Asia Radio Today that severe winds and heavy rain, which arrived late last week, had caused some damage to one antenna.

“We have used our backup generators to maintain our broadcast schedule.  Despite the storms, the station was only off air for 20 minutes,” he said.

TWR is waiting for the weather to clear before making repairs that will allow the station to resume normal operations.

Two years ago, the station upgraded its transmitters to be able to run at a maximum power of 250,000 watts. Other transmitters operate at 100,000 watts.

TWR’s broadcasts from Guam air in several Asian languages and English.

Some programmes are targeted at Christians facing persecution in North Korea and China.

Libby also told Asia Radio Today about TWR’s plans for digital broadcasting: “We have been doing test DRM broadcasts for over a year. As inexpensive receivers become more plentiful, we will probably increase our DRM airtime.”