Twitter might never replace traditional media in breaking news stories, but increasingly it has been setting the table for them.

Yesterday, when a tsunami struck in Samoa, Twitter was literally ahead of the story, tweeting a tsunami warning before the disaster struck. That same U.S. Geological Survey feed also tweeted an advisory about this morning's 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia.

So how can you follow these breaking disaster stories on Twitter?

Twitter's advantage in these situations is its lightning speed. The drawback is that several hours into a story, the signal-to-noise ratio makes it harder to separate the wheat from the chaff. However, in a true sign of the times, other media outlets eventually begin to report on the first responses. You can also zero in on a user like this one and follow his tweets to see what's happening.

Similarly, a Twitter search at this point wouldn't be much help, but if you jump to an earlier page on the topic, you can find the Twitter users who reported events closer to the action and follow them. You can also do a search for Twitpics at Twicsy.com, and see photos taken by Twitter users on the ground.

Finally, Twitter is a great way to let people in these disaster-stricken places know that you support them. Pro Wrestler Samoa Joe, for example, has been consistently tweeting a plea for tsunami relief.

Do you turn to social media sites like Twitter before consulting traditional news sources?