Comparing four countries’ communications in the wake of the Nepal earthquake

When a tragedy like Saturday’s earthquake hits, the questions are inevitable – and often unanswerable.

How many were killed? How many trapped, how many hurt? People around the world panic for family members gone silent.

READ MORE: Canadian stranded in Nepal says Ottawa not doing enough to help citizens go home

Responsibility for answering these questions generally falls to each country’s government, and some do this better than others. Here’s how the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia provided information to querying citizens  and media in the wake of Nepal’s earthquake.

United States:

The State Department had little information available Monday morning regarding the country’s efforts to bring American citizens home. An initial email to the department’s media office was returned with a suggestion to tune in to a press briefing later that afternoon.

Shortly after the briefing, a press officer at the consular bureau sent an email with the following information, accurate as of 2:15 p.m.:

• Approximately 85 U.S. citizens remain at the embassy’s chancery and 220 U.S. citizens at the American Club.
• The international airport in Kathmandu has re-opened for commercial flights.  The airport normally only operates during daytime hours.
• Consular officials are providing shuttles to the airport from the embassy and the American Club and assisting U.S. citizens with flight arrangements.
• Officials are aware of U.S. citizen trekkers trapped above base camp in Mt. Everest and has requested assistance from local rescue authorities to evacuate them.

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READ MORE: Ottawa’s Faye Kennedy found safe, but injured, after Nepal earthquake

United Kingdom:

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond’s detailed statement was available Sunday on the department’s website, saying there were no known British casualties.

It also communicated the following:

• Embassy staff on the ground have provided assistance to approximately 200 British nationals in Nepal.
• Teams of consular staff were out “scouring hospitals, hotels and areas popular with tourists” looking for citizens who may need assistance.
• Damage to communication infrastructure make it difficult to contact people trekking in more remote areas.
• The Foreign Office deployed extra consular bodies from London and Delhi.
• The department is providing £5m (CAD $9.2 million) of humanitarian aid for Nepal.

WATCH: The family of a Calgary yoga teacher is growing concerned for her safety following the devastating earthquake. 

Canada:

Canada’s Foreign Affairs site had little information available online Monday pertaining to its efforts to bring affected Canadians home. As of Sunday night, Canadians knew only that Ottawa was sending help for the consular team there.

And email to Global News Monday afternoon provided some more details, though nothing was readily available online. The information in the afternoon update included:

• Consular officials in Ottawa and the region are working with local authorities to assess the status of Canadians on the ground in Nepal.
• 462 Canadians are registered as travelling in Nepal, but that figure is only an estimate since registration is voluntary.
• Foreign Affairs has deployed six additional officials to Nepal in an effort to bolster consular capacity.
• An assessment team is helping determine the needs of survivors on the ground. Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Assessment Team was deployed Saturday and landed in Kathmandu.
• Canada is contributing $5m to relief efforts.

Australia:

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had a detailed release online Sunday. The information, which has not since been updated, included:

• The embassy has confirmed the safety of more than 200 Australians. But 549 were registered as travelling in Nepal. Officials are working to locate the rest.
• There are no reports of Australian deaths.
• The department is deploying a crisis response team, as well as two humanitarian experts, to help locate and establish the welfare of all Australians.
• The Australian government is providing $5 million in assistance, spread between Australian NGOs, UN partners and the Australian Red Cross.