Two Tauranga teenagers are calling for people who ignore natural disaster warnings to be fined and forced to attend an information course on the dangers of disobeying advice from Civil Defence.
Kyle Nicholson and Liam Parker, both 14, are promoting their cause after completing an assignment at school, where they posed
the question Should there be a penalty for people who ignore disaster warnings?
The boys spoke to 25 members of the public and found 72 per cent supported some kind of consequence for those who deliberately disregard disaster warnings.
Thirty-two per cent of those surveyed in Tauranga did nothing when they heard the nationwide tsunami alert on February 28, the boys say.
Beaches around New Zealand were closed and people were advised to move to higher ground after the alert was sparked by a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Chile.
The Tauranga Boys' College students say introducing a penalty for purposely disregarding a disaster warning could result in less people being harmed.
Read more in today's Bay of Plenty Times
