Overview:
Palauan journalists aren’t waiting for the next disaster to start the conversation. A week-long hands-on training hosted by ABC International Development equipped local media professionals with the skills, contacts and tools to report on emergencies before, during and after they strike — because when disaster hits, informed communities respond better.
By: Summer Kennard
KOROR, Palau (June 22, 2026) — “If we’re constantly ignoring them, it will come back around to bite us,” said Daigo Taima, a broadcaster with TMC Broadcast, reflecting on the risks Palau faces from extreme weather events — and the critical role journalists play in communicating those risks to the public.
Taima was among a group of Palauan media professionals who completed a week-long Disaster Reporting Training on Friday, June 19, gaining hands-on skills in emergency coverage, audio production and disaster preparedness storytelling. The workshop was hosted by ABC International Development, an arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with a regional mandate to strengthen Pacific media capacity.
The training blended classroom instruction with field-based reporting exercises at sites across Palau, giving participants direct experience interviewing emergency management officials, scientists and cultural institution leaders.
On Tuesday, participants traveled to the Ngatpang Cultural Center, where they interviewed representatives from the Palau Red Cross Society and Community Public Health staff. The Palau Red Cross Disaster Action Team conducted a live emergency preparedness exercise during the visit, covering response coordination and community support protocols.
Participants attended a weather balloon launch the following day at Palau’s Weather Service Office, gaining a firsthand look at how meteorologists gather atmospheric data used in forecasting and disaster risk assessment. The group used newly issued recording kits to conduct interviews and collect audio on-site.
Thursday’s session brought participants to the First Joint Regional Seminar on Capacity Building for Asset Management, hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The seminar convened representatives from Palau and other Pacific island nations to address infrastructure resilience.
The week concluded at the Belau National Museum, where journalists produced audio content while learning about challenges facing the institution — a visit that Taima said left a lasting impression.
“The interview actually opened my eyes to some of the problems and challenges facing that museum,” Taima said. “That made me wonder how many other places were similar.”
The training is part of ABC International Development’s Pacific Prepared program, now in its fifth year, which produces disaster and climate preparedness content for audiences across the Pacific region.
Kate Seymour, project director of ABC International Development, said the program is built on the principle that Pacific stories must be told by Pacific journalists.
“We don’t want stories to be told from an Australian-only perspective,” Seymour said. “We aim for the program to be an ongoing conversation with Pacific journalists and content makers taking the lead on sharing stories from their own communities.”
Seymour said a key outcome of the workshop is helping journalists forge relationships with local disaster agencies before a crisis strikes.
“We hope that telling these stories will encourage journalists to get to know their local disaster management services so that when an emergency arrives, they’re already talking regularly,” she said.
Pacific Prepared is funded by the Australian Government and is one of several Australian Aid programs delivered by the ABC in the Pacific. Seymour said she hopes the Koror workshop leads to more Palauan voices contributing to the program — and potentially a Palauan-language series, similar to existing editions produced in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
For Taima, the training reinforced the stakes of the work.
“The community must be able to receive proper disaster reports in order to prepare and respond properly to these threats,” he said. “Palau may not face extreme threatening weather conditions as often, but if we’re constantly ignoring those risks, it could come back around to affect us.”
