Safety advice ignored

People were ‘actively ignoring’ Mt Maunganui safety advice in the wake of the Tongan tsunami and Cyclone Cody, and pulled down signs in a bid to check out unpredictable ocean swells, the council says. Tauranga City Council pulled in contractors to keep people away from Mauao and Moturiki/Leisure Island amid turbulent water activity, and asked people not to disregard safety advice, SunLive reported. Both locations reopened midyesterday, but the council said some people had been actively ignoring safety advice while they were closed, repeatedly pulling down warning signs at Mauao’s base track. Both Mauao and Moturiki/Leisure Island were closed to the public on Sunday due to strong and unpredictable ocean surges. And the council would reassess whether barriers need to go up again before high tide yesterday.