Tsunami Warning: Why some kiwis didin't take it seriously?

Salam to all,

28th Feb. 2010
@10 a.m.
  My hubby was watching the news on TV One TVNZ when he came across the Tsunami warning
released by the Civil Defense. People were advised to stay away from beaches. He was immediately thinking about some of our friends who planned to hire a boat to go fishing that day. He called the WUMA president just to find out if those who were going for fishing knew about the Tsunami warning.
The president then took some immediate actions to contact their spouses.

@6 p.m.
My hubby watched the 6 o'clock news to find out about the latest development. We found out our
friends who planned to go fishing in a hired boat canceled their plan and had returned safely to their
respected homes. (Alhamdulillah). I joined my hubby to watch their news after I finished cooking for our dinner. (I prepared extra bcs we was going to have the new family for dinner).

What did we watch on the news? Here's one of the news:

While most New Zealanders heeded the tsunami warnings, hundreds of others still headed to the beach despite the potential danger.

Civil Defence Minister John Carter says there was the potential for lives to be lost in Sunday's tsunami and people who went to beaches should have heeded the warnings.

He says there were reports of people getting caught in the power water surges of the tsunami.
"New Zealanders who did not heed the national tsunami warning issued in the wake of the Chilean earthquake need to realise this was a serious event.
"There was definitely potential for loss of life in our waters and it is a credit to the team who managed this event that that didn't happen," he says.

Joe Nawalaniec was one of those who headed out to the beach, he now regrets the decision.
"I realise that if I was maybe 20 or 30 metres to the south I wouldn't have been so lucky because it would have carried me out in this massive river out to the ocean," says Nawalaniec.

Some people simply did not believe the warnings.
"I was here (at the beach) the last time we had a warning and nothing came of it. I don't believe it's going to happen like they say it will," said one beach-goer.

The unconcerned attitudes have prompted calls for life guards and civil defence staff to have the power to fine those who disobey Civil Defence warnings.
"We want them (the public) to understand that when we give out advice it needs to be taken seriously," says Carter. He said most people heeded the warnings and he was proud of the way Civil Defence, local Civil Defence Emergency Management groups, police, fire, coastguard and volunteers worked together to manage the situation.

Mostly, they were able to warn people and keep them off the beaches and out of the water," he says.
"The media also played a crucial role in keeping people up to date and informed as the situation unfolded."

Carter says the distance from the earthquake meant there was plenty of time to prepare.
"However, if an earthquake of this magnitude strikes 20 kilometres away from one of New Zealand's major cities, there will be no warning time," he says.

He warns that despite New Zealand having some of the best civil defence emergency planning in the world, in an event like a tsunami, there could a period of time when households and communities might be isolated and without essential services.
 (source: TVNZ TV ONE)

I don't know why some kiwis just being so ignorant and arrogant when they ignored the warnings.
Some were even waited to see the Tsunami at Mt Manganui. Some even take the risks to still
playing with their kids at the beach near at the east coast. They thought that since NZ is really
far. So, they reckon it's quite safe. How come it  is quite safe when NZ is also prone to earthquakes
and there were couple of minor earthquakes happened in 2008. Even at schools, earthquake and fire
drills are the obligatory drills each term! I remember when I could feel that the earth was shaking when I took a nap on the 26th Dec. 2004. I was scared bcs I on my own in my rented house in Parit Buntar. That's why I can't understand why some kiwis had that kind of behaviours especially when it is related to their safety. Who knows what's in their mind?