2 Mar 2010

UN / CHILE EARTHQUAKE

Commenting on whether Chile was prepared for this earthquake, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg says that it is a very well-prepared country, “but one cannot always be prepared for an 8.8 earthquake, which happens to be one of the most severe earthquakes in history.” UNTV

Posted at: March 2, 2010 3:00 pm

Duration: 01:52

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: UN / CHILE EARTHQUAKE
SOURCE: UNTV
TRT: 1.52
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 2 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior, UN building

2 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference panel
3. Cutaway, reporter
4.   SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
"In every extreme situation we have desperate people who are trying very hard to help themselves in any way possible as well as people who take advantage of the situation. I think that we shouldn't overplay the amount of looting that is happening [in Chile]. There are isolated incidents. In general, the country is very calm and, by and large, law and order is established."   
5. Cutaway, reporter
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
"[Chile's] tsunami alert system was activated and it has gone out. But my understanding is that there have been additional deaths because of the tsunami. So, that means there have been people who either did not hear the alert or after hearing the alert were not able to get away in time and were caught [by the tsunami]. So, there were a number of deaths that were a result of the tsunami."          
7. Cutaway, reporters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
"[Chile] is very well-prepared. It has one of the strongest building codes but at the same time I don't think any country can be prepared for an 8.8 earthquake totally adequately. It is, I think, if I'm not mistaken, the fifth most severe earthquake ever recorded in human history. So, no matter how prepared you are, there are going to be repercussions from something as big as this. It is true that there are some hospitals that are damaged, some that have collapsed. It is true that there are some hospitals that are damaged, some that have collapsed. That's why the [Chilean] government is asking for field hospitals, as a very targeted requirement that they have asked the international community to help with, because they do determine that this as an area that is needed."  
9. Wide shot, panel, walk-out

STORYLINE:

Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), briefed reporters today on the aftermath of Saturday's earthquake in Chile.

Bragg told reporters that Chile's death toll currently stands at over 723 people, with 2 million people affected and 1.5 million homes damaged. She added that at the moment 19 UN staff, who work for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), are still unaccounted for – down from more than 60 on Monday.

She emphasized that the UN 'stands ready to help in any way possible' and that it has been in 'constant contact' with the Chilean government since the first day of the earthquake.

She also commended the Chilean government's relief efforts saying that Chile is 'very well-prepared' with one of the 'strongest building codes', but that no country 'can be prepared for an 8.8 earthquake totally adequately.'

Saturday's quake in Chile is though to be the fifth most powerful earthquake ever recorded in human history.