Google-translated from French:
As strong spring storms swept across the United States last week, two West Virginia AM broadcast towers were toppled by winds exceeding 90 mph on Wednesday evening. Both towers are owned by WCHS, The Voice of Charleston: a news station serving the Charleston area.
WCHS, the cornerstone of the West Virginia MetroNews network and a vital news source in the south and southwest of the state, was faced with a temporary shutdown of its operations. The station, also a vital part of the state’s emergency alert system, is expanding its reach with two FM translators, which were also affected.
The tower collapse also affected WCHS’s sister station, WSWW-AM [1490 kHz / Ed]. Both managed to resume their broadcasts the following Thursday.
This is the fourth major radio transmitter incident in 2024. A site in Oklahoma was knocked out of service following copper thefts in January, an AM station in Alabama was reported to have had its tower stolen in February and a North Carolina AM station had its broadcast equipment destroyed by a fire in March. Now in April it’s WCHS’s turn.
Michel Fremy, Radio Magazine FB group (2024-04-15)