News by Phone

For the third time in a month I got phone and text messages from worried friends and relatives in relation to a significant disaster or event near to me before seeing or hearing the news from the media. The world seemingly is getting smaller and more connected 24/7 and around the globe.

This time it was the tragic Yogyakarta earthquake. Staying with friends in Bali we fortunately did not feel anything, and other than being touched to give a donation, were not affected.

Earlier in May it was the false alarm of a tsunami from a Tongan earthquake. This earthquake was in the middle of the night but the tsunami alert was reported widely around the globe. The removal of the alert took longer to be notified and the NZ Civil Defence has had to review its performance, or lack of.

And last month I got some calls about the riots in Kathmandu from some people who had forgotten I had changed my travel plans to spend more time in India.