Weather Watch: Ocean's incredible power

A villager sits on the church seats at the village of Poutasi on the South coast of Samoa. Photo / Brett Phibbs

On a wet, grey, Sunday afternoon cars lined my street like I've never seen before as Pacific Islanders packed a tiny church near my home. It almost brought a tear to my eye seeing them huddled in the rain outside the building with their black umbrellas...standing quietly in the cold, united in grief.

The weather seemed fitting for such a sad moment as the local community rallied around to support each other.

I didn't want to intrude on their time of grief but I would certainly assume they were all directly affected by Wednesday's horrific tsunami.

I've watched the video of one of the Samoan tsunamis coming ashore many times...the power in the ocean is simply incredible.

And the other day NOAA - which is America's version of NIWA - produced this stunning animation of the tsunami travelling across the entire Pacific Ocean to Alaska, South America, NZ, Antarctica, Japan and beyond. It seems to makes our planet look so small and we as humans really are at the mercy of nature. It also makes the Pacific Ocean look like a small pond with a rock being thrown into it.

The world has so much power, so much energy underneath it and surrounding it.

It's easy to think that somehow, somewhere, someone very powerful is angry with us. The Philippines have been devastated by floods and now another typhoon. The deadly tsunami that raced across the Pacific Island nations. The catastrophic earthquake in Indonesia that has killed thousands. Landslides in Italy that have killed.

Yet on One News on Saturday a mother, who had lost all her children in the tsunami, was asked this question by a reporter "Are you angry with God?".

Her reply, after burying her children, with a tear running down her face, was "no....I am thankful for the time he gave me with them". It stunned me.

One positive thing that comes out of disasters is that we often learn and understand more about one another.

After 9/11 New York went from that surly city that seemed to have no love for one another to the mantra of 'support thy neighbour'. Even 8 years on it's a bond that unites not just New Yorkers but many Americans.

Perhaps this is a chance for New Zealanders to embrace our poorer Pacific Island neighbours and be the "big brother" they so desperately need right now.

How you can help

Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Deposits can be made at at any Westpac branch. All the money raised will go to the Samoan Government

Red Cross
- Make a secure online donation at redcross.org.nz
- Send cheques to the Samoan Red Cross Fund, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington 6144
- Call 0900 31 100 to make an automatic $20 donation
- Make a donation at any NZ Red Cross office

ANZ bank - Make a donation at any ANZ bank branch, or donate directly to the ANZ appeal account: 01 1839 0143546 00

Oxfam - Make a secure online donation at Oxfam.org.nz - Phone 0800 400 666 or make an automatic $20 donation by calling 0900 600 20

Top: A villager sits on the church seats at the village of Poutasi on the South coast of Samoa. Photo / Brett Phibbs