Tsunami watch for NZ, Fiji

[Flip McWho]

Haha that'll be hilarious. boy racers are everywhere but I've only really seen them in huge (infested) numbers in those couple of areas.

I think the govt was pondering on somethingorother in the boy racer department but I dunno what exactly.

They're annoying, but they're good to laugh at.

[Arrian]

So, basically, the main thing one has to complain about in NZ is a few crazy drivers? You have no concept of how GOOD that is.

I encountered some insanity on the road when I was there (hell, I drove ~1500 miles over the course of 18 days). Most of it had to do with people passing around blind curves uphill and stuff like that. You people don't believe in double-yellow lines, do you? Your roadbuilders also clearly don't believe in straight lines or dynamite.

-Arrian

[Agathon]

Someone tell Arrian about burnouts.

[Flip McWho]

Haha, Arrian.

Boy racers,

They are a subset of the youth culture whose main purpose in life is to drive 'souped' up japanese import cars. Now this isn't that bad in of itself. But whilst driving they love to speed, race each other, take part in burnouts. Burnouts being where they poor a heap of diesel on a wide section of the road somewhere and drive around and around and around and around and around and around and around in as tight as circles as they can make it with the express intent of burning as much rubber of there tyres as possible.

Another favourite pasttime, the most popular pasttime because they can't do the others all that often, is simply cruising around the main streets of any city or town unlucky enough to have them pumping bad hip hop music and just generally being there.

Consider also that our population is a lot fewer than yours so a few crazy drivers is quite a number over here.

[Sava]

so did the tsunami hit or what?

[Arrian]

Another favourite pasttime, the most popular pasttime because they can't do the others all that often, is simply cruising around the main streets of any city or town unlucky enough to have them pumping bad hip hop music and just generally being there.

ZOMG how awful! How can you stand it?!?! @ silly Kiwis.

I did notice a few wannabees cruising town w/the blaring hip hop/rap. I was vaguely amused, given that it's par for the course back home. Copycats!

-Arrian

[Flip McWho]

Na no tsunami eventuated. Though the civil defense here is getting a blasting for being badly prepared for it. Badly as in not prepared at all.

Yeah, boy racers on the whole are overrated, but they are annoying. They make up a substantial part of the 15-18yr old group and well not even Ozzy would advocate giving them the vote so youth voting rights is kinda ****ed. And you banged it on the head with copycats. They're annoying cause they think they're like the shiznat and have no bones about trying to shove that fact down everyones throat. They also become bigger menaces on fridays and saturdays as thats when alcohol gets thrown into the mix as well.

[Flip McWho]

At the end of the day whens all said and done:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3659121a11,00.html

Ministry to monitor media better after tsunami debacle
05 May 2006


Civil Defence Minister Rick Barker says the Ministry will monitor media more carefully in future after misleading reports yesterday prompted hundreds of East Coast residents to evacuate their homes.


The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had issued a tsunami alert for Fiji and New Zealand after a massive quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale was recorded off the coast of Tonga at 3.26am NZT.

Despite the alert for New Zealand being withdrawn within 30 minutes, overseas media, including CNN and the BBC, continued to report that a tsunami could hit New Zealand around 6.20am, prompting spontaneous evacuations by householders and rest home residents, and police were inundated with calls from terrified householders.

The BBC has denied exaggerating the report.

One News reported last night that international media were sent details of the warning but no update to say New Zealand was not at risk.

North Shore, Gisborne, Napier and Christchurch City Councils all complained about poor communication.

Local media also had problems initially contacting Civil Defence officials.
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The National Crisis Management Centre did not issue a media release until 6.54am - half an hour after the tsunami was predicted to have struck - and more than three hours after the initial report from the United States.

National MP Nick Smith has called for "an inquiry", saying Civil Defence's response was inadequate.

"It is unbelievable that after more than 200,000 people lost their lives 18 months ago in a tsunami our own response systems are so inadequate."

Mr Barker said there was "no acceptance of a mess-up".

With 20 such alerts a year, the Ministry could not afford to "overreact" every time, or people would fail to take a real warning seriously, he said.

However, he admitted it would have been "much better" if the misreporting was monitored and acted on earlier.

"The Ministry will be looking carefully at the dissemination of information to the media and all our Civil Defence partners.

"The provision of authorised reports from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management may be the best guard against inaccurate and misleading reports that unnecessarily alarm the public."

Civil Defence is soon to sign an agreement with Radio New Zealand and Radio Broadcasters Association over broadcasting warnings.

A public education campaign was also planned.

[Sava]

yay New Zealand didn't die