EDITORIAL: Are we starting to overreact to the weather? 

Now before anyone jumps on the phone — yes, I know what’s happened up north.  

Yes, I know what happened with the cyclone and it caused real damage.  

Flooding across parts of Northland, the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay. Yes I know that.  

States of emergency declared. Power outages. Evacuations. Roads closed. People genuinely affected. Up north. 

Those are the facts and they matter. 

But here’s the bigger picture we’re being told now: New Zealand is entering what experts are calling a more defined “cyclone season.”  

This isn’t just a one-off. We’ve already had multiple major weather events in 2026 — storms earlier this year that caused deaths and serious flooding.  

Scientists are warning that while cyclones may not come more often, they could be more intense, last longer, and hit harder. 

So yes — the risk is real. 

But here’s the question I can’t shake this morning: are we starting to jump too quickly into full shutdown mode every time a system rolls through? 

Because we know this is the time of year. We know we sit in a part of the world where these systems track down. This is not new anymore — this is becoming part of the pattern. 

And yet — what are we seeing? 

Batten down the hatches. Cancel plans. Stay home. Prepare for the worst. 

Now again — authorities will say that’s exactly the point.  

Early warnings save lives. And they’re right.  

Since events like Cyclone Gabrielle, behaviour has changed.  

People take warnings seriously. Emergency management acts earlier. 

And in many cases that's the preparedness that we want and absolutely prevents tragedy.  

That’s a good thing. 

But is there a tipping point? 

Because when every weather system is treated like it could be catastrophic, something else starts to happen.  

People stop going out. Businesses take a hit. Events lose momentum. And slowly, quietly, the economy feels it.  

And it starts to feel like it’s clickbait for media. It starts to feel like a build up days before. 

And here’s where it gets tricky — because you don’t want complacency.  

You don’t want people ignoring warnings when a genuinely dangerous system is coming. 

But you also don’t want a country that freezes every time the forecast turns rough. 

We’ve seen the impacts — infrastructure under pressure, insurance costs rising, councils facing huge bills to build resilience.  

All of that is real, and all of that needs serious long-term thinking. 

But day-to-day? 

Are we getting the balance right?  

Or are we starting to default to worst-case scenario thinking every time will be a catastrophe — just in case? 

Because if this is the new normal… if this really is a “cyclone season” we’re going to live with… 

Then the way we respond to it matters just as much as the weather itself. 

So, here’s the question this morning — have we found the right balance between caution and overreaction? 

Or are we, bit by bit, becoming a country that shuts down too easily? 

Should we be more cautious of a boy who cried wolf situation in Wellington? Because that’s the part that really scares me. 

Do we overreact too quickly? 

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