Hard News: Again: Is everyone okay?
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UPDATE: David Haywood, Jen and their kids are unhurt.
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Here in Wellington just felt another aftershock about 5 mins ago.
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TV3 still saying that the hospital has been evacuated.
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
TV3 still saying that the hospital has been evacuated.
Radio New Zealand saying repeatedly that it isn't.
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SteveH, in reply to
I'd be inclined to believe RNZ over TV3.
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The video starting to come out now is utterly terrifying and awful.
Gah. ABC news in aus if you really want.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
I'd be inclined to believe RNZ over TV3.
I'd be inclined to believe the NZ Police over the both of them. TV3 are proving why the media are thought of so poorly.
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
I'd be inclined to believe RNZ over TV3.
Yes, me too, just making the point for (hopefully) clarity's sake.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
TV3 still saying that the hospital has been evacuated.
Radio New Zealand saying repeatedly that it isn’t.
Folks, it's rather important you both start telling the same (and accurate) story. It really really matters.
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I suppose they're both right - two wards have been evacuated, hospital working at limited capacity, taking only major cases.
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SteveH, in reply to
Folks, it’s rather important you both start telling the same (and accurate) story. It really really matters.
I expect that few people in Christchurch are getting info from TV so it's probably more important that RNZ (and Twitter etc) is accurate, but it would be good if they could get on the same page.
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Stuff n Things, in reply to
Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management advises hospital is operational, with one ward damaged: http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/ (CHCH Update No 3)
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From a contact in the geology dept at the university - all inhabitants of that building are OK. She thought that generally the Ilam campus was relatively unscathed, but mindful of warnings above please take this as unconfirmed.
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Lucy Stewart, in reply to
I had a friend get out of the commerce building. He says he nearly had a very close encounter with a large slab of concrete and isn't sure how the rest of the campus is because he didn't stop to look around on his way out. Haven't heard from any of my partner's contacts who would have been in the Erskine building, but I assume internet is down.
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And I know television reporters are doing a very tough job under terrible circumstances, but please I don’t really need to be told ever again that people trapped in rubble are “screaming”. Wasn’t really expecting them to run through the Cole Porter songbook.
OK, perhaps I’m being really touchy – and I'm sure every journo in Christchurch is out of their minds with worries about their own friends and families – but this is one story that is quite awful enough without any hype. In a disaster like this it's not only the content of the media's reporting that matters, but the tone.
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Sacha, in reply to
Craig, it's a human catastrophe with inevitably icky things like blood and screaming. That's the reality. I wouldn't wish on anyone the job of reporting that and making instant editorial decisions about how much to show.
There's nothing most of us can do - so yes, you can question the point of showing much at all. I'd sure hope there are no unattended children watching.
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Awful stuff.
I suspect one of the important stories to emerge over the next few days will be the extremely poor communications between the Beehive and Chch (reported about half an hour ago by Radio NZ's Jane Patterson). The Emergency Cabinet meeting was apparently relying heavily on TVNZ/TV3 coverage for their information. More than 30 minutes after RNZ reported multiple deaths (via Chch Emergency Services), journalists at the Beehive were still being briefed that Cabinet had no knowledge of any fatalities.
Mary Wilson on RNZ is Excellent. Asked some very important questions to greatly clarify things.
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Paul Williams, in reply to
Mary Wilson on RNZ is Excellent. Asked some very important questions to greatly clarify things.
Indeed.
Listening in from Sydney, I can only offer my thoughts to all directly affected. Reading here I'm relieved to learn most PAS regulars are safe, though the Haywood's house collapse is terrible, and I've managed to get hold of all but one of my offline friends (one of whom will be looking out for many thousands of Canty students in hostels).
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
How are the hostels, do you happen to know?
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RadioNZ live web feed pretty much overwhelmed, no accessing it from here that's for sure ... massive delays on clips recorded a bit earlier too.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
Mobile networks are mostly down. MCDEM is reliant on MSM, HF radio and satellite phone. The MSM is, well, the MSM. HF radio relies on competent operators, who may or may not be available right now. And satellite phones are awesome, provided your operators know how to use them correctly. Which is probably more true than it was six months ago, but still not a given. They're not quite cellphones.
My emergency response unit team leader likes to say "If your mobile phone still works, it's not a disaster". So if WLG and CHC can't communicate by cellphone, this is definitely a disaster.
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How are the hostels, do you happen to know?
I don't sadly Giovanni, I was reading here hoping to learn how badly the university was affected. I'll certainly post anything I hear.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
That’s a fair point, Sacha, and I’d have to say for the most part the media have actually done a damn good job at avoiding “disaster porn”. (Quietly, I’ve been impressed by how the coverage I’ve seen has not involved cameras being shoved in the faces of obviously traumatised people.) There’s going to be a lot of people who won’t come out of the PGG Building alive, but there’s lines of tone and taste that should be respected. Does reporting that people are “screaming” add any news value to the story or is it gratuitous and insensitive colour? Of course, YMMV and I’m certainly rather sensitive because there’s a lot of people I haven’t accounted for.
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It hardly matters now, but I'd just finished the copy for the Wellington and Christchurch Great Blends, set for March 10 in Wellington and the 11th in Christchurch. Emailed it off, went for a swim, then came back to this.
I have no idea what happens now, I'm just glad our Christchurch people are okay.
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A friend from Australia just called to chat with my wife - she was a little surprised when I said she'd have to call back in a few days because of the quake. "Isn't that in Christchurch?", and "should I call back on a land line?". "No, no, I'm sorry, we're fine, goodbye". I txted to apologize - even that went really slowly.
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