Editorial: Tsunami warning waste of money

John Middleton with a notice from the council explaining the effects of being in the Tsunami zone.

Owning a house on the beachfront is a dream for many New Zealanders.

We dream of being able to sit in our home and watch the storms and waves roll in during winter and walk out our back door, soak in some rays and go for a swim in summer.

The downside of being near the beach is the knowledge that if a tsunami did head our way we could all be wiped out.

For me that is not something I worry about and the same is true for many others I know.

The chances of a tsunami hitting us are slim.

Last week we reported the likelihood of Tauranga being hit by a damaging wave was a one-in-2500-year event.

That said, it seems ridiculous to me that so much time and money has been spent in order to have a warning included on the LIM reports of houses in predicted tsunami flood zones.

In Saturday's paper we reported 20,000 houses in those areas were sent a letter informing them of the change. Reports and the mail out cost Tauranga City Council more than $200,000.

Isn't that something you take for granted if you buy a house on or near the beach? Surely we don't need to be told that.

I would be interested to know if a property I was considering buying was in an area that often flooded after heavy rain but that is very different to being told you may be affected by a tsunami.

It would not stop me from buying a house near the beach in Papamoa or Mount Maunganui.

On Saturday we also reported the council was spending $3.3 million on infrastructure such as tsunami mounds and evacuation bridges.

I also question that spending.

It is important people know the best way out and the safest places to go if there is ever a tsunami headed our way but do we really need to spend $3.3 million on such an unlikely event?

What is the point of building a dirt mound on Gordon Spratt Reserve at Papamoa when you only have to go a little further to the Papamoa Hills - which to me seems like a safer place to go anyway.

Even closer still will be the new Tauranga Eastern Link bridge which will soon be completed.

Surely there are cheaper and smarter ways to be prepared.