After meeting in the Situation Room with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, FEMA Director William Fugate, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Tom Donilon, Rahm Emanuel, and USAID President Rajiv Shah, President Barack Obama took to the airwaves today to give an official statement on the Chile earthquake and the tsunami expected to hit Hawaii this afternoon.

It’s been declared a state of emergency in Hawaii, where officials have started to plan for the possible tsunami caused by yesterday’s earthquake in Chili. The first waves are expected to hit at 4:19 EST this afternoon.

Not a great way to start your weekend, but warnings have been issued to Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, South America, and Russia after Chile was been hit by an earthquake of 8.8 magnitude yesterday. The quake was one of the top 7 of all time, according to a U.S. Geological Survey. With many resources still tied up in Haiti, how will the government respond to the latest natural disaster?

Ever since word broke of a major earthquake hitting Haiti yesterday afternoon, news outlets have struggled to find the right way to cover this story with precious little information. Judging by last night’s lack of coverage, cable news might only exist when there is footage for broadcast. Of course, a lack of visuals doesn’t make a story any less important, it just makes it harder to cover – which is why both the NY Times and CNN have turned to Twitter feed from individuals

The huge 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti late this afternoon has reduced much of that country’s poor, densely-populated capital city of Port-au-Prince to rubble. It’s a devastating story — and one that you’d think the 24-hour cable news networks would have covered. But did they?

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has rocked Haiti. The quake at 1:53 p.m. PST was centered about 10 miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince. The Associated Press reported that a hospital has collapsed. A local tsunami watch was issued for that part of the Caribbean, but the warning from the Pacific Tsunami Watch Center said a widespread threat ”does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data.”