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Earthquakes, forest fires and glacial lake outbursts were top of the agenda for Bhutanese journalists as they kicked off a five-day "Reporting Disasters" workshop in Thimphu.
Earthquakes, forest fires and glacial lake outbursts were top of the agenda for Bhutanese journalists as they kicked off a five-day “Reporting Disasters” workshop in Thimphu.
Reporters from Bhutan’s English- and Dzongkha-language newspapers rubbed shoulders with disaster management officials on the first day of a course designed to prepare them to cover natural hazards and other crises in the tiny Himalayan kingdom.
High in the mountains between India and China, Bhutan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries. It faces the threat of devastating flooding as climate change melts some of its 2,700 glacial lakes. Deadly forest fires, landslides, drought and food insecurity compound the risks.
Led by Thomson Reuters Foundation Editor Tim Large, who oversees the global AlertNet humanitarian news service, the workshop aims to equip reporters with a range of practical skills from staying safe in disaster zones to interviewing traumatised survivors.
It also brings together officials from the government’s disaster management agency, sponsors of the course, to share their experiences of disaster risk reduction.
The workshop is hosted by the Bhutan Media Institute and combines intensive news exercises with discussions of ethics, logistics and the inner workings of the international aid system.
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