In a radio career spanning the better part of 32 years, Ron Anderson of WBBV 101.3 has seen and reported on bad weather of all sorts.

When Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29, it marked the first time since the Vicksburg radio station began broadcasting in 1989 that the airwaves went dead for an extended period.

&#8221We were out of power about a day and a half, which, of course, prevented our signal from getting to the tower up on Castle Hill near Central Fire Station,“ Anderson said.

The station’s generators were filled with fuel and ready to go, but that went out the window when the storm’s winds kept power disconnected to much of Vicksburg.

&#8221The amperage regulator on it didn’t function, so you had this whirring noise going on with it,“ Anderson said.

Addressing the weekly meeting of the Vicksburg Lions Club Wednesday, the longtime radio personality and current operations manager for the station shared his insight and personal recollections of broadcasters during catastrophic events.

A 1973 flood in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood, just weeks after his first day on WKYV, one of the first FM stations in the state, was his first experience with weather events on the radio.

&#8221There were accounts from people calling the radio about water up to their patios and things like that,“ Anderson said, also recalling the hand-held two-way radios that were used for communication much like cellular phones today.

Anderson remembers being on the air the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

&#8221Someone simply called the radio station and let us know that planes just went through the World Trade Center. We went from having our normal good time in the morning to having a disaster,“ Anderson said.

Anderson, the host of the weekday morning show on Fun Country 101.3 who also worked in the drug-testing department at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station while out of radio for a time, also talked about the challenges local radio stations face from new technologies like satellite radio and helping the public sort through the rumors during crises.

&#8221What was it, we had 90 percent of the power out, gas lines, rumors about it all. Once we’d squash one rumor, another would bounce up,“ Anderson said.

As for satellite radio, Anderson spelled out the pluses and minuses to the subscription-only service.

&#8221Its upside is the variety of programming and music choices, while the downside is that listeners can’t follow local news and issues,“ he said.

WBBV‘s coverage area includes listeners in Warren, Issaquena, Sharkey, Claiborne, Jefferson, Copiah, Hinds and Yazoo Counties, in addition to coverage in Louisiana as far west as Rayville.

Its sister station, KBYO-FM 104.5, began broadcasting with a rock music format in August, beaming its signal from a 6,000-watt tower in Tallulah.