Multiple tsunami warnings after quakes,Major 8.1 quake in Kermadec Islands at 8.28am (NZT)

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Live: Ocean becoming unsettled; multiple tsunami warnings after quakes; thousands flee

5 Mar, 2021 11:28 AM

 

Earthquake swarm, North Island tsunami warning after magnitude 8 shake

5 Mar, 2021 11:42 AM

 

TSUNAMI WARNING LATEST
* Swarm of earthquakes in Pacific - including magnitude 8.1 quake in Kermadec Islands at 8.28am (NZT) - spark Civil Defence warnings.
* Tsunami warning for large parts of North Island coast - people near coast from the Bay of Islands to Whangārei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay, Great Barrier Island, and west coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Ahipara told to move immediately.
* There are two different types of tsunami threat. Most of the country is under a beach and marine threat. The parts where evacuations are taking place are under a land and marine threat.
* Evacuation orders "not done lightly" and on basis of watching tsunamis in Indonensia and Japan, official says. "We want people to take this seriously."
* 8.1 earthquake followed 7.4 shake at 6.41am and 7.1 quake off North Island coast at 2.27am.

 

Hundreds of workers, students and residents have headed to higher ground after a third, massive Pacific earthquake this morning - and a tsunami threat that affects much of the Northland, Bay of Plenty, East Coast and upper West Coast coastlines.

Residents were told to move immediately to higher ground after the magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck off the Kermadec Islands, 1000km northeast of New Zealand, at 8.28am (NZT).

There has been gridlock in cities such as Whangārei and on other roads around the affected regions but roads are clearing.

 

"People near coast from the Bay of Islands to Whangārei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay, and Great Barrier Island must move immediately to nearest high ground, out of all tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as possible," the National Emergency Management Agency alerted at 8.45am.

Just before 10am, it tweeted the following:

"Tsunami warning: Areas under land and marine threat:

"The West Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Ahipara.

"The East Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whangārei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay including Whakatāne and Opotiki.

 

"And Great Barrier Island."

Roger Ball, NEMA acting director, told Newstalk ZB's Kerre McIvor that waves would be hitting in the far north about 10am.

 

People gathering on higher ground in Northland this morning. Photo / Karina Cooper

 

While the Kermedec Islands are expected to fare the worst, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Nuie, Pitcarin Island, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Wallis and Fortuna and New Zealand are alll in the firing line.

A tsunami warning has been issued for the whole of American Samoa as a result of the quake activity here.

The US National Weather Service Pago Pago issued the alert shortly before 9am NZT.

"All residents along the coasts must evacuate immediately to higher ground immediately."

 

 

EARLIER

A 7.4m earthquake near the Kermadec Islands sparked another Civil Defence tsunami activity advisory, following an earlier, massive jolt off the New Zealand east coast that woke thousands of Kiwis.

Authorities issued a national advisory at 7.30am on Friday, warning people of tsunami activity near the Kermadec Islands. It followed a 7.4 magnitude earthquake off Raoul Island, the largest of the islands, at 6.41am.

"We expect New Zealand coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore," said the National Emergency Management Agency.

"People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, rivers and estuaries."

The advisory covers east coast areas of Northland - from the Bay of Islands to Whāngārei.

Just after 8.30am, the agency said: "GNS Science continue to assess the tsunami threat from the M7.4 Kermadec Islands earthquake at 6:41am. At this time there is no new information. We will provide a further update within the next hour."

 

People in Auckland, Wellington and even Christchurch all reported feeling the quake.

"She was a beauty, it really shook. I'm quite frightened, I've got no idea if there's going to be a tsunami, it was massive," Rex from Gisborne told Newstalk ZB's Bruce Russell. "It's the biggest I've felt in a long, long time and I'm 80."

In tears on Newstalk ZB, Helen in the Chatham Islands said: "It's the biggest one I've ever felt. It went on and on and on. I'm in the old stone house and I didn't know where to stand because it's all rock. I've never felt one so big - it must be massive across New Zealand. It died down and then went on and on again."

Janice in Napier told the station: "I'm still shaking. I was lying in bed ... and the next minute, the quake comes in and it lasted for ages. The biggest one I've felt. This was one jolt and it kept going. I eventually got up and sat under the doorway, oh my God."

Harry in New Plymouth told Newstalk ZB: "That was a bit of a doozy. I felt it as clear as if it was happening underneath. It woke me up... I have the map in front of me, she certainly was a jolt. To be that far away and it still got to us. If you are near the water folks, get away."

 

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said it was a big shake. "Everyone was awake, our Civil Defence teams got into action immediately to make sure everyone was safe and sound."

She said she's incredibly proud of the locals who acted fast. "Gisborne people, Tairāwhiti people, when there's an earthquake and it is long or strong, they self-evacuate. Because you cannot wait for locally-created earthquakes, you need to self-evacuate."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has posted on Instagram: "Hope everyone is ok out there - especially on the East Coast who would have felt the full force of that earthquake". She repeated the message on Facebook:

 

Hope everyone is ok out there - especially on the East Coast who would have felt the full force of that earthquake (the map here shows just how many people were reporting it across the country)

 

Denham Bay, Raoul Island

 

The Kermadec Islands /kərˈmædɛk/ (Māori: Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean 800–1,000 km (500–620 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga.

The islands are part of New Zealand, 33.6 km2 (13.0 sq mi) in total area and uninhabited, except for the permanently manned Raoul Island Station, the northernmost outpost of New Zealand.

The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead an Area Outside Territorial Authority.

 

Raoul Island Station

The Station consists of a government meteorological and radio station, and a hostel for Department of Conservation officers and volunteers, that has been maintained since 1937. It lies on the northern terraces of Raoul Island, at an elevation of about 50 m (160 ft), above the cliffs of Fleetwood Bluff. It is the northernmost inhabited outpost of New Zealand.

 

 

Major 8.1 quake a rare and 'very notable event' - scientist

5 Mar, 2021 08:55 AM

 

New Zealand woke up this morning to a swarm of earthquakes, including an 8.1 quake in the Kermadec region, which has wrapped the country in tsunami warnings, both on the east and the west coast. Follow our live coverage.

This morning's 8.1 quake was a "very notable event" and much different to past large earthquakes in the Kermadec region, a geophysicist says.

Professor Tim Stern, of Victoria University, said the major 8.28am earthquake near the Kermadec Islands, 1000km northeast of New Zealand, was significant for its rare size and shallow depth.

 

It followed a 7.3 quake, which struck at 2.27am about 95km east of Te Araroa, and a 7.4 event, recorded at 6.41am this morning off Raoul Island, the largest of the Kermadec Islands.

 

The major 8.28am earthquake near the Kermadec Islands, 1000km northeast of New Zealand, was significant for its rare size and shallow depth. Photo / USGS

 

To monitor offshore quakes, scientists rely on GeoNet's network of seismic instruments which are placed all over New Zealand, Chatham Islands, and Raoul Island.

Tsunami modelling utilises seismic and GPS data, along with data from a network of tide gauges to model tsunamis.

More information comes from DART buoys - international network of instruments deployed in the open ocean which measure wave heights and wave lengths, and are used to detect tsunamis in the open ocean.

 

A tsunami from the Kermadecs Arc area above New Zealand – called a "regional" tsunami – could offer one to three hours' warning for evacuation.

That was unlike New Zealand's most hazardous form of tsunami - a violent near-shore event that could leave people just minutes to evacuate.

Headline projections in an EQC-commissioned report estimated worst-case scenario impacts from a one-in-500 year event could include 33,000 fatalities, 27,000 injuries and $45 billion of property loss.

One recent simulation suggested tsunami waves - up to 12m high in places - could inundate the coastline within an hour if a "megathrust" earthquake struck here.

For earthquakes on the other side of the Pacific, a tsunami could take up to about 16 hours to reach New Zealand, depending on exactly where it was.