1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: Well, good afternoon to you. Welcome to the program. First 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: to the emergency alert that galvanized the country and a 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: lot of it made us angry. Civil Defense says there's 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: still a tsunami threat this afternoon, and there is now 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: rebounding tsunami activity happening from South America. It comes as 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: questions have been raised whether the warning system went just 7 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: a little bit overboard over the course of the night. 8 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: Has many people reported being inundated with emergency alerts, including 9 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: the middle of the night. Now I'm joined by the 10 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: Director of Civil Defense. His name is John Price. John Price, 11 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: Hello to. 12 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 2: You, oh pure Andrew, thank you very much for the 13 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: opportunity to speak to you and your listeners. 14 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: Very good. First things first, we still have a risk. Now, 15 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: what's these rebounding tsunamis? 16 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 2: Look really good question, Andrew, Thank you. Look, let's I 17 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 2: probably need to take a little step back and just 18 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: remind everyone, especially the listeners, that's what happened yesterday with 19 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 2: an eight point eight magnitude earthquake in Russia was probably 20 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 2: one of the largest earthquakes record ordered in the history 21 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 2: of the world. So what that will do, the size 22 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 2: of that sort of earthquake will generate a substantive tsunami. Way, 23 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 2: when I say waye, what that really is is a 24 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 2: body of water. It's not like a way that you 25 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 2: and I would see down at the It's a surge. 26 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: Yes, John, We've watched movies of the boxing day tsunamis. 27 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: We know what it surged. We know what a tsunami 28 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: looks like, and we know that. We know that that happened. 29 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: And then of course it's struck through the South China Sea. 30 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: We saw pictures of it on last night's news, but 31 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: it never made it to New Zealand. So why should 32 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: we be concerned about rebounding tsunamis when the original tsunami 33 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: didn't even make it in the first place. 34 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 2: Well that's not correct. That actually has made its way 35 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,279 Speaker 2: to New Zealand, Andrew, and we've seen this. It's struck 36 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 2: at various different parts of New Zealand, all the way 37 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 2: through from up North, all the way down south and 38 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 2: Vans to Chatham Islands. Where it's been we've had senses 39 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 2: out of picked it up. And so the tsunami or 40 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 2: the body of water is still with us at the moment, 41 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: and hence the rest because until that settles itself down, 42 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 2: we've still got strong and unusual currents. Can we know 43 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 2: Andrew that in these sort of waters, if you enter 44 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 2: these waters there's a ninety percent change to. 45 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: Potentially luckily though of course it's winter and it's cold. 46 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: I'm not going for a swim. But here's the thing. 47 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: The Minister came on today with Kerrie Woodham and said, look, 48 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: we do these alerts so that you can make an 49 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: informed decision. My problem is that I don't think the 50 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: decision got any more informed. From the start of the 51 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: earthquake until the second alert which we got in the 52 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: morning twelve hours got nothing, and I worried that the 53 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: monitoring system that we have through all the oceans was 54 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: not feeding us with updated statistics. 55 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 2: Look, no, that's completely wrong. Though. We've got a lot 56 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 2: of strong science body from GNS and also international research 57 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 2: and science that has backed up the fact that we 58 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 2: have of a body of water that has had and 59 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 2: we've also experienced in it as well. There are parts 60 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 2: of the Bay of Plenty that have had to evacuate 61 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 2: as a result of it. So we're definitely. 62 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: Really said that's who's evacuated. 63 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 2: They were as parts of by Plenty where the precautionary 64 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 2: was taken just to keep them. 65 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: So the water came up, the water came up past 66 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: the beach, and up they came, and people had to 67 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: be evacuated, not up. 68 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 2: Not up over the beach, but into areas because you've 69 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 2: got to remember, like the likes of estuaries and such 70 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 2: might become areas of concern. So and we know this 71 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 2: marinas and places like that where the water can surge up. 72 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 2: What we've got to do is take a precautionary approach, 73 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 2: not a complacency approach. 74 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: So now, why does some people get one alert? Some 75 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: people got three alerts, some people got five. I've got 76 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: some people who are claiming they got seven. Was this 77 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: was this a localized alert or is there a glitch 78 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: in our emergency system? 79 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 2: We need to just explain what we do there is 80 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 2: we identify the potential hazard and threat and it was 81 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 2: to the whole coast of New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. 82 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:17,679 Speaker 2: So what we do then is we basically create a 83 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 2: coastal polygon around the coast of New Zealand. And what 84 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 2: happens is the message is sent to any fund that 85 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 2: currently is within that polygon, which is near the coast. 86 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 2: So if you are inland, no, you're not going to 87 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 2: get an emergency mobile alert because there's no threat or 88 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 2: this to that area. But if you then move from 89 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 2: the inland area during the time the emergency mobile alert 90 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 2: is alive, it will set itself off. 91 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: Well, John, John, very good, Thank you keep watching, keep 92 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: us informed. Thank you very much for your time tonight, Andrew. 93 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: And that is John Price, who is our civil defense head, 94 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: and I'm sure we all a pre siated him explaining 95 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: what an earthquake in the tsunami is to the citizens 96 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: of New Zealand. We all needed that, didn't we. 97 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 2: For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive listen live to 98 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 2: news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 99 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.