Earthquake: Respect tsunami like the floods we know

Damage at CentrePort in Wellington, caused by yesterday's 7.5 South Island earthquake. PHOTO/Mark Mitchell

Northlanders are well tuned into floods - it is our local natural disaster.

We don't do earthquakes, not big ones, anyway.

Which might explain why many of us ignore warnings to stay away from our coast in case there is a tsunami, after there has been an earthquake.

It seems to be a case of "if I can't see it or feel it, then is it real?".

The quake that was centred near Hanmer Springs had a damaging impact 200km away in Wellington. It was just 118km north of Christchurch - a city that knows too well the devastation earthquakes can bring.

Northland is roughly 750km away.

Would we really be at risk from a tsunami?

We have to be believe that, yes, we are.

There was confusion though, at 12.25am yesterday when the Civil Defence warnings started rolling in.

At 12.40am, a Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) advisory stated there was no tsunami risk.

At 1.01am that changed - a Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) said there was risk to southern coastal areas.

At 1.29am the warning was extended to the east coast of the North and South Island.
It included the chilling message: "Move inland or to higher ground immediately".

Some of us did. And some of us didn't.

Some of us, stupidly, went for a drive to have a look.

Our lack of experience, our ignorance of earthquakes should not extend to tsunami.
Because as Northlanders, we know floods very well.

And what is a tsunami, if not a form of flood, kicked off by a catastrophic event?