How Big was Yasi - for Our Overseas Vistors......

[mx250]

......(and some geologically challenged Aussies )

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/how-cyclone-yasi-compares-around-the-world/story-fn7rxoal-1225998850720

I don't know how they worked it out or estimated it, but another stat I heard was the energy released by Yasi was enough to power the entire world for 12 months, and then some.

Ah, the majesty and power of Mother Nature .

[VMX247]

Horses for courses..now wouldn't they be in a media shit frenzee with that running though there towns...I recall they have made movies about it.!
Lucky we've only got 1/7 of their population...
Getting this day in day out for the last two months,people are kind of over the media.
cheers A

[500Fool]

Getting this day in day out for the last two months,people are kind of over the media.
cheers A

Agreed the media are getting way over the top. Before the last Slycoon they were raving about Qld's wet was "Australia's worst natural disaster", it wasn't good with around twenty people dead. What about a couple of years ago when near on 200 were killed in fires in Vic?
I didn't see it but on the commercial channels they had a "Countdown to disaster" wih a big clock on the wall, what a crock of poo. They had live crosses to people in Brisbane telling of eyewitness reports somewhere else. News conferences every half hour and a mighty buld up to the other night. You'd have thought there was going to be nuclear war with total annihilation the way they were carring on.

[mx250]

Getting this day in day out for the last two months,people are kind of over the media.
cheers A

Agreed the media are getting way over the top. Before the last Slycoon they were raving about Qld's wet was "Australia's worst natural disaster", it wasn't good with around twenty people dead. What about a couple of years ago when near on 200 were killed in fires in Vic?
I didn't see it but on the commercial channels they had a "Countdown to disaster" wih a big clock on the wall, what a crock of poo. They had live crosses to people in Brisbane telling of eyewitness reports somewhere else. News conferences every half hour and a mighty buld up to the other night. You'd have thought there was going to be nuclear war with total annihilation the way they were carring on.

It's a double edge sword - one of the reasons there were so few deaths was because of the widespread publicity .

Yes it was a little tasteless at times and it was repetitive and boring for the non-involved. And can be seen as cynical, opportunistic, ghoulish etc etc  . But it performed a job .

[VMX247]

True Graeme,
It still feels like yesterday when we used to only get this running across the bottom of the telly....... Bred tough back then   

YELLOW CYCLONE WARNING FOR BROOME TO PORT HEDLAND

[500Fool]

It's a double edge sword - one of the reasons there were so few deaths was because of the widespread publicity .
Yes it was a little tasteless at times and it was repetitive and boring for the non-involved. And can be seen as cynical, opportunistic, ghoulish etc etc  . But it performed a job .

You could say that or you could say it was blown out of all proportion and the people who are used to having two or three of these each summer just did what they normally do. Ole mate reporter standing in the rain getting his hair blown around was setting a bad example, the puplic was advised to stay indoors and out of the wind/rain. You could say the commercial press are just parasites, sensationalising everything just to to sell prime time for inane adds.............................................or not  

[firko]

The poor old media cops it all the time. The very reason for their existence is to inform and entertain. We've all got television and we've all sat glued to the screen during 911, wars and all sorts of catastrophes, large and small. Now that the drama is on our own door steps and the media is doing what they're paid to do, they get people criticizing them for being there. The Emergency services have all acknowledged the important part the media plays in these kind of situations by continuing the advance warnings, making people aware of the impending drama and basically contributing in a large way to the communication chain. The fact that nobody was killed or even seriously injured in the biggest cyclone to ever hit says a lot for the medias success in getting the message accross that this was going to be a biggy and to prepare for the worst. Overkill? Maybe but it obviously worked. The huge response for the 'Mud Army' volunteer cleanup in Brisbane was instigated by the media and you'd have to be a tough cookie to think that wasn't a good thing.
Sure the media often inject a bit of human interest overkill but overall I feel that they've done (and are still doing) a good job.

[500Fool]

Yes the media has a role to play with these type things. The recent coverage I think went over the top, with the total bombardment it goes the other way. People get used to the "Sky is falling" stuff and tend to turn off. Then when there is no armageddon next big "Event" the message is blunted or negated.
The media bombardment does come at a cost, with the pollies and the large entourage touring round is getting in the way of recovery. Some people marooned by flood waters had signs up "Go away press", sick of the bow wave from press boats swamping their flood banks. There were media helicopters filming people on roofs while others were trying to rescue. Makes for good prime time viewing but those choppers could have been used for rescue work and peole would have been saved that perished. Quite a few years ago there was a firebomber lost when a media chopper got in the road filming a fire up close, with the black Saturday fires media were everywhere. The fire authority in Vic has now made fire areas restricted flight zones to stop the problem.
As I said it was sad with the toll from the recent flooding, to get it in a bit of perspective though an average long weekend road toll would be similar, does that get the same treatment? My thoughts are still a large percentage of the press is inconsistant and senationalist.

[Captain Bilko]

to get it in a bit of perspective though an average long weekend road toll would be similar, does that get the same treatment? My thoughts are still a large percentage of the press is inconsistant and senationalist.

Totally 100% with you on that!
Amazed ACA aren't doing a special on "How to look your best when filling the skip" special.....

[firko]

to get it in a bit of perspective though an average long weekend road toll would be similar, does that get the same treatment? My thoughts are still a large percentage of the press is inconsistant and senationalist.

And the reason they're like that is that millions of people just like us lap it up in droves causing those shows to rate through the roof. Serious television journalism such as that often produced by the ABC and the other news oriented networks don't rate a razoo in comparison. Without wanting to demean those people who have been sadly affected by these disasters, you can bet that they'd be glued to their screens watching our lives unfurl if those disasters had occurred in Sydney, Perth or Ballarat. We all cry out that ACA and whatever the ch7 version is called are shit but we still watch them. These shows are merely a reflection of society and it's need for instant news without the thinking.

[Captain Bilko]

I don't watch 'em (for that very reason).

[GMC]

I think it’s only overload if you sit in front of the TV all day.
If you just wander past the TV every few hours then its easy to get updates

[500Fool]

We all cry out that ACA and whatever the ch7 version is called are shit but we still watch them. 

No we don't

[VMX247]

OMG anyone watching Sunrise they are going off on this exact subject with a bit of politics and enviro stuff thrown in  GO GIRL !!! 

[firko]

No we don't

With respect, as a society we most certainly do watch tabloid television. You, 66M and I mightn't watch those shows but the ratings prove that a vast majority of the population do indeed regularly watch them. I agree that they're sensationalist and over the top but as I said earlier....they're just feeding up the fodder that the punters want.
We can be very thankful we don't have a local version of the Fox Network who'd be finding a communist plot behind Cyclone Yasi and calling for the CIA to go in and arrest the commies at the Weather Channel and charge them with subversive broadcasting.