Week 45: The Tsunami
At Civil Beat, we thought the big story of the week was going to be ‘crossover’ at the Legislature.
Were we wrong…
That’s the way it is in the news business.
The devastation we’ve witnessed in Japan is harrowing. It’s impossible to look at the pictures and not feel your gut tighten. Thankfully, we in Hawaii were largely spared.
A destructive natural disaster is the kind of event that can call out the best and worst in humanity. We hope it called out the best in us as journalists. It’s a time where we can serve our community and act as a window to the world.
On Thursday and Friday, visitors came to Civil Beat from nearly every country on the map, with Canada, India, Australia and the United Kingdom leading the way, of course behind the United States. People came to the site from every state.
Our focus at Civil is issues, answering the questions citizens need to understand if they’re to be informed and participate in our democracy. But that doesn’t rule out the importance of news.
On Thursday, during the day, our focus was helping readers track issues in the Legislature.
When night fell and we rolled into action on the Japanese earthquake, our job became different.
It was to track the tsunami threat to Hawaii and provide helpful information to the people of Hawaii.
The Tsunami: In Words
- LIVE BLOG: Hawaii Tsunami
- Abercrombie in Charge
- Dozens of Honolulu Boat Owners Reeling From Tsunami Damage
- Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii Faces Budget Ax
- Holes in Hawaii’s Tsunami Evacuation Zone
- ‘We Prayed for Hawaii. We Prayed for Japan’
- Japan Devastated After Quake, Tsunami
- California Reports First U.S. Tsunami Death
- A History of Tsunamis in Hawaii
- Hawaii Resident Weathers Earthquake in Tokyo
- Most Markets Down After Quake, Dow Finishes Up
- Hawaii Tsunami Resource Center
The Tsunami: In Pictures
The Tsunami: In Video
- Hawaii Tsunami Video – In The Midst of the Surge
- Japan Videos: Earthquake, Tsunami Damage
- VIDEO: Hawaii Tsunami Surges Hitting Big Island
We know there are some who suffered losses in Hawaii and our thoughts are with them. Our thoughts are especially with our friends in Japan, who have a long road ahead and still need our support.
