Better safe than sorry over tsunami

It is becoming more and more obvious that the met service and civil defence have never heard the story about that little boy that ran up and down the road crying wolf.

Why is it, that up until 2005, we never had tsunami warnings every other month, like we do now? I have lived in NZ off and on since 1987, and until 2005 i can't recall there ever being a tsunami warning in New Zealand....or a tsunami.

People say...better to be safe than sorry...and imagine the uproar if there WAS a tsunami blah blah blah...Right now, i am imaging the lack of uproar when there is a real tsunami and everyone gets swept away because we ignored the latest hype from these idiots, and assumed it was another false alarm. No people = no uproar.

How about these people actually do their job and find out if there actually IS a tsunami heading our way...before attempting to send everyone in NZ into a frenzied march to the top of the nearest mountain?  I am beginning to wonder if these people at civil defence just get bored every once in awhile and think no one is paying enough attention to them.

Better safe than sorry over tsunami - Carter - Yahoo!Xtra News

A defiant Civil Defence Minister says it is better to be safe than sorry, following criticism that yesterday's tsunami warnings were over the top and led to the unnecessary cancellation of a number of events up and down the country.

The events which were disrupted after the alert sparked by Chile's magnitude 8.8 earthquake included a half marathon in Auckland, horse races at Onetangi Beach on Waiheke Island, surf life saving championships in Napier and dragon boat events in Wellington. Many people did not take the warnings seriously and flocked to beaches to spot the swells.

Minister John Carter says he would much prefer to be accused of jumping the gun than of failing to act.

"We're always going to err on the side of caution, because this is nature, it's unpredictable, we actually don't know, so we've got to be very, very cautious. Quite honestly, it's a lot easier to explain to you that the system has worked rather than it didn't."

Mr Carter says people cannot afford to be complacent with tsunami warnings.

However, people at a beach north of Auckland were impressed with Civil Defence's actions during the emergency. Omaha Beach resident Yvonne Burling says she and several neighbours received text messages from Civil Defence warning them of the danger. Fire crews were on standby, ready to activate the tsunami siren if needed.

In Chile, rescuers are using shovels and sledgehammers to find earthquake survivors. More than 400 people have died and 1.5 million homes have been destroyed. Desperate and hungry residents in Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, have begun looting. Authorities say in spite of the depressing situation, looting is not justified.