Unsurprisingly, he found the media weighted in favour of Western interests.

Reporting also showed no relationship between disaster severity and media coverage. We might ask how much has changed? Who counts?

Hurricane Harvey is certainly worthy of media attention. It dominated the mediascape.

At the same time however, the South Asian floods barely rated - and these killed over 1200 people, putting a third of Bangladesh under water and negatively affecting at least two and a half million people.

We can observe the same of Hurricane Irma.

Most of the mainstream media's hurricane reportage of the affected region has focused on the US. Much concern was for Florida, in the projected path of the cyclone, even as it devastated Caribbean islands with Category 5 fury (and to date the greatest death toll).

After two days reporting Irma, the media 'discovered' the largish island between the Lesser Antilles and the Florida Keys: Cuba.

But an important point appears to have escaped the media's attention: Cuba is consistently well-prepared for such storms. It wins plaudits from the United Nations and Oxfam for its hurricane response.

First, Cubans are well educated on hurricane risk; this instruction begins early in school and continues. Consequently, citizens know how to prepare for, and respond to, such emergencies.

Second, before hurricanes make landfall, dedicated teams organised at the community level take to the streets to remove or secure debris.

Third, plans and procedures for evacuation are well coordinated between centralised government and local communities. Cuba's hurricane plan does not rely on individuals arranging their own shelter or evacuation.

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• Dr Steve Matthewman is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Auckland.
• Dr Scott Poynting is Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at Western Sydney University.

Casualties from the storm have been minimal however, there has already been significant damage left in the wake of the typhoon, with 80 per cent of homes destroyed in some areas.

Donations to assist with the humanitarian response and ongoing aid programmes can be made to Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand by:

• Phoning 0800 22 10 22 to make credit card donations
• Donating online using a credit card at www.caritas.org.nz
• Posting to Caritas, PO Box 12193, Thorndon, Wellington 6144, New Zealand

Aid organisations like Caritas, working with government and communities, to prepare for emergencies like this have done a lot to reduce the number of casualties.

Caritas in the Philippines has stockpiled essential supplies, provided updates to areas in the path of the typhoon and has joined with other NGOs and local authorities to help organise the largest peacetime evacuation in the country's history.

In the wake of Haiyan - the largest typhoon ever recorded over land - Caritas has continued to work with dioceses around the country to put in place contingency plans that better prepare people for the regular natural disasters that hit the Philippines.

Nearly one million people have been pre-emptively evacuated from affected regions and have taken shelter in evacuation centres.

Relief supplies for thousands of families have also been pre-positioned to allow the essential items to be distributed easily and quickly to those in need.

Caritas is continuing to monitor the typhoon and monitor communities affected by the typhoon.

"With Typhoon Hagupit now decreasing in strength, Caritas is going back to affected areas to assess the damage, assist with cleaning up and ensure that people have essential items and shelter," says Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand director Julianne Hickey.

"Once these basic needs are met, we will work with communities to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods to be more resilient in future emergencies."

Source

• Supplied Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: caritas.org

The poll found that a majority (56%) of Americans believe God is in control of the earth, but the idea of God employing Mother Nature to dispense judgment (38% of all Americans) or God punishing entire nations for the sins of a few (29%) has less support.

Most white evangelicals (84%) and minority Christians (76%) believe God is in control of everything that happens in the world, compared to slimmer majorities of white mainline Protestants (55%) and Catholics (52%).

Read the article in USA Today

So after the latest Christchurch upheaval, I thank God that in a city of nearly 400,000 people, in which an earthquake struck at its busiest time of the day, the death toll is likely to be only about 200 and many square kilometres of the city are still standing and largely unaffected.

My wife and I found comfort at a special prayer service on the Sunday after the quake at St Mary Star of the Sea church in Gisborne, led by parish priest Pa Yvan Sergy and his assistant, Father Matt McAuslin.

Read all of Garth George's column in the NZ Herald