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Varsity Lakes residents were among many Gold Coasters who ignored tsunami warnings to avoid local beaches on February 27.
A tsunami alert was triggered following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile.
Varsity Lakes resident Ava Smith said she was concerned so many people had disregarded the warnings issued by Australian authorities.
“It worries me, if there was a tsunami they could have all been killed,” she said. “People need to take this more seriously.”
However, despite the warning many surfers could be seen in the water before and after 8.30am, when the tsunami was forecast to arrive.
Varsity Lakes surfer Stefan Nieuwoudt said he drove to Burleigh beach when he learned of the approaching tsunami.
Mr Nieuwoudt said senior lifeguards approached him and his friends at the beach, but they were not forced to leave.
“I expected the waves to be huge because of this predicted tsunami [but] the lifeguards still let us surf, so I didn’t think it was serious,” he said.
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