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The Samoan earthquake epicentre. Graphic: Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
Pacific.Scoop
By Pacific Media Watch
The Television New Zealand newsroom is doing half hourly updates tracking the tsunami as it moves across the Pacific from the earthquake epicentre off Samoa throughout the day.
News organisations have reported at least three deaths and 50 injuries in Samoa and TV3 reports entire villages being wiped out.
The TVNZ news bulletins will continue every 30 minutes and provide evacuation updates, Civil Defence advisories and reports of the earthquake and tsunami’s impact as they filter in.
Extensive coverage of these events is also online at www.tvnz.co.nz and in a full half hour bulletin at 4.30pm and ONE News tonight at six.
TVNZ has journalists and camera crews arriving at tsunami landing points now around New Zealand and reporter, Lisa Owen, is due in Samoa shortly.
Radio Australia reports: Deaths have been reported across Samoa after a powerful 8.3-magnitude quake sparked a tsunami and sent residents fleeing to higher ground across the region this morning.
Source: Pacific Media Watch
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Update News from Kiribati. News of the Samoan Tsunami has also reached Kiribati where Government through the media has warned its people to be alert on this. This includes closures of all government ministries, [excluding health, TSKL], all schools and businessess. The question is Kiribati is very low, compared to the height of the Tsunami that has hit Samoa. Compared Samoa with Kiribati, Samoa has high hills for people to escape to, whereas Kiribati does not. Therefore a question of how the people could escape/survive from this Tsunami if it does reach Kiribati? The only option Kiribati would think about before this happens is to stay put within their homes waiting for that time. We believe that God gives us this life, and he has the right to take it from us. We lay our lives in his hand and we are ready to face it. God bless Kiribati and those who lives in it.
TVNZ has no shame touting its coverage in this way. After the tsunami hit Samoa, I monitored TVNZ, TV3 and commercial radio’s coverage of the tragedy between 7.30 am and 10 am NZ time. Frankly, all were shamefully pathetic. On the other hand RNZ’s National Programme was brilliant. So much for commercial broadcasting’s ability to break out of its revenue-driven mind set when the public’s real interests demand it.
Television, after briefly noting the tsunami or occasionally steaming mention of the possible NZ tsunami across the bottom of the screen, continued with its normal banal morning programming. Commercial radio largely prattled away about other things.
National Radio gave this story good coverage continuously and carried out its civil defence warning functions in a highly professional manner. God help those who ever have to rely on those other outlets during a real civil defence emergency here in New Zealand..
I was Executive Director of the NZ Journalists Training Organisation from 1995 to 2005 and am a volunteer at my local civil defence centre.. – Bill Southworth.
A tsunami alert was delivered to the public at large this morning on the main island of Kiribati, Tarawa. Just as expected, the people of Kiribati will certainly have no place to save themselves from the effects of the upcoming tsunami which is said to hit Kiribati tonight at 9pm. Three more hours to go then. After the people of Kiribati have heard of the disastrous tsunami, the people are fearing of whatever may come out as a result of tonights tsunami. Without high grounds, it will be a more serious threat to the lives of the citizens of kiribati compared to that of the Samoans….all offices and bussinesses today are closed and the noise of vehicles running down the streets is no more to be heard.. may the lord help kiribati and her people through this moment of fear..
god bless u all and keep waiting for my updates.
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I pray for you & all of Kiribati’s inhabitants. I will be contacting as many relief organizations as I can until I find one that will assist in relief work on your Islands. I live on Vancouver Island, & I know the connection that one has to one’s Islands & homeland. Your homes are sacred as are your lives. You have a friend in me.