I had enough of all these death toll updates! "The latest figure is estimated to be 50,000...", "Death toll is expected to reach as high as 100,000...", etc, etc...

Why are people so concerned with the death toll figures? Will it make a broadcasting station with the most "accurate" figure (which is just an estimate after all) attract more viewers (and effectively dubbed as the "premiere channel with the most up-to-date coverage")? Oh please, will all these madness be tossed out, and instead let us know how those still ALIVE are doing?

Instead of concerning ourselves with reports on the humanitarian groups, most of us go around with the exclamation "What? The death toll has reached [insert figure here]?" It's not that we are not concerned with those survivors; just that, for most of the time, we've placed the wrong emphasis. "X number of [insert your nationality] are reportedly dead....." is yet another fine example of the wrong emphasis placed.

We pray for the living, for those who are missing but are still ALIVE. We don't pray for the deceased, albeit their deaths are grievous. We pray for the humanitarian groups and the affected countries' leaders for wisdom and strength to reach out to help the SURVIVING victims. We pray the death count will no longer increase (ok, this one's ambiguous; but under careful examination, we are actually praying more will survive the catastrophe).

So, will all the newcasters stop all these counting and instead tell us what the local authorities are (and will be) going to do to help the SURVIVING?