BEVS

Given NZ and its natural disasters and weather events perhaps check your mobile is able to receive or updated.

NZ Civil Defence and Emergency Management

simonsi

Just hope Civil Defence's decision-making ability is vastly improved and faster - particularly in tsunami risk events...if CD turn out to be crap these alerts can't be turned off...

Bo-Jangles

It worked really well the last time - they successfully pissed off half the population with an accidental test at 1 o'clock in the morning.

inkedneonurse

Yep loved that one..not long in country...jet lagged wifes phone starts screeching

Pollyana

Its the nightmare scenario for those of us who have to send out the warnings (I do the Queensland ones).
We have to practice monthly, and always check before pressing SEND - are you in the training site, are you REALLY in the training site....are you SURE you are in the training site........But then you find someone has upgraded the site and not copied the permissions properly etc etc. I really feel for whoever it was that send the NZ one, they will never live it down and will be terrified every time they practice in future. At least our worst one has only been internal to the Commissioner.

simonsi

Shame as that was entirely the IT team and systems designers fault IMHO, its perfectly possible to put enough differentiation between test and production systems instead of just relying on the user to work it out (different logins, different machines, an extra step on the Prod system etc etc), they just need to treat it more like something actually serious happens (like waking up 100,000 people) if they get it wrong and design accordingly.

Equally I'm concerned that Civil Defence need to make an assessment before the wave (if there is one), comes ashore...not warn everyone afterwards...and then there wasn't a wave...

Pollyana

One issue with tsunami warnings though is that there are so many factors affecting the sie and strength of the tsunami that until it gets close its impossible to know whether it will actually impact the coast. I've worked on one which was heading across the Pacific towards Queensland and until it got closer (within about 4 hours of the coast) it was impossible to say for sure how big the impact would be - in the end it was only a couple of centimetres, but at 4 hours out it looked more like 1-2 metres.
Unfortunately its not an exact science, and we have to make a judgement call at some point - better to warn , then scale down, than not to warn and lose people.

This kind of Emergency Alert system can and does save lives; we use it here for floods, cyclones, storm surges and it has saved people by getting out of the danger area, especially as you can't opt out of the service. I just hope that the stuff-up in NZ hasn't affected peole's confidence in it too much.

BEVS

My mobile which is a Samsug J2 doesn't seem to be able to get these alerts.

And people !

The NZ Civil Defence team , Nelson and Tasman, have just upgraded and improved themselves to the tune of one 58 yr old new recruit who passed an interview and successfully completed the 24 hrs of boot camp & training scenarios. It was rather vigorous from the sight and pong that greeted me on his return.

Go MrBEVS Go ! RaRaRa !

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to add.

For reasons unfathomable , it was decided that for my are the Tsunami warning claxton would not be set off in the event of a Tsunami warning. That we should all rely on our common sense to know when to get to higher ground.
Mentals given the claxton is at the local fire station and in the event of such a warning there will be people right there trundling the fire wagons to higher ground.

inkedneonurse

Well done Mr Bevs....anyone no how to join the hamilton civil defence

simonsi

Woo hoo!!!

BEVS

Look for Civil Defence Waikato & ask about recruitment. When/How .
They have a Flopbook page and a webpage.

That lot are mentals if you look at their weather announcements.

simonsi

Because thats the obvious thing to do. Confidence in CD falling....

One wonders in what circumstances the tsunami warning Klaxon <will> be set off???

Hopefully MrBEVs will bring some sanity back to them in your area at least

BEVS

It's at the fire station here. Not down at the CD building.

The fire station is manned by volunteers here . The claxton has a normal and a quiet mode. Nights it is supposed to be off or in quiet mode but sometimes that is not the case as one peels oneself off the bedroom ceiling.

Two types of sound as far as I remember.
Up and down for fire station stuff call outs.
Long loud continuous for Tsunami.

Civil Defence here are 2nd responders. Not 1st.
Police; Paramedics; Search and Rescue; Firemen are all 1st responders.

It's a question he can ask now but really that is about those that man the fire station.

Pollyana

They should be just normal text messages, the idea is to keep it simple so no need for internet connection etc.
The Aussie ones (and all the US ones I have come across) have an option for voice message to landne numbers, and text message to mobiles.

simonsi

Can't be (although that maybe how they appear on the device), only certain phones and eg certain iOS levels support these messages. Normal text messages would be applicable to all phones.

Its triggered direct from the cell towers to connected and capable phones, they bypass any user features such as silent, do not disturb and call blocking.