Far North residents praised for quick reaction to tsunami threat

Ahipara Horse Treks owner Lohnet Murray called in her staff to move her horses and ponies to a paddock on the hill. Photo / Supplied

Far North residents from both sides of the coast scrambled to evacuate their homes and workplaces during yesterday's tsunami threat.

Residents in Ahipara and Doubtless Bay spotted wave surges and unusual water activities in local harbours, although there were no reports of damage.

Emergency services have widely praised people for behaving responsibly.

Doubtless Bay residents reported seeing a "strong surge" of water come into the harbour from 11.30am to 12.30pm.

"Over the past hour a strong surge has been flowing into Mangonui Harbour," Ian Ivey said.

"No tsunami wave as such but more like a strong flowing river stirring up the mud and sand."

Many of the evacuated Mangonui residents gathered at the Mangonui Motel where the owners, Chester and Debbie, and Ben from the local Four Square, cooked up some food for everyone.

Doubtless Bay residents reported seeing a 'strong surge' of water come into the harbour from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Photo / Supplied

Ahipara's chief fire officer, Dave Ross, said two fire crews and one Department of Conservation crew evacuated all low-lying houses from Kaka St to Shipwreck Bay.

Students and staff from Ahipara School evacuated to Pukepoto School which is higher.

Ross said the tide at the beach "seemed to climb right up".

"Though it was half tide, it came up bigger than a full tide, and that happened several times.

"If it had been a full tide, things would have been quite different. There's areas that would have definitely been inundated with water."

Ross ran the evacuation process from Whangārei and said all went smoothly.

"The system went really well.

"Once the all-clear was given everyone returned home. Everyone behaved responsibly, so a big thanks to the community."

Ahipara Acting Senior Sergeant Nigel Turnbull said local police helped residents evacuate from the town and blocked off the beach.

Students from Abundant Life School had evacuated to higher ground.

Ahipara Horse Treks owner Lohnet Murray had to evacuate 10 horses and two miniature ponies to paddocks on a nearby hill yesterday.

Two miniature ponies from Ahipara Horse Treks get a lift to higher ground yesterday. Photo / Supplied

Murray called in her full team of six staff to help ride and lead the horses to a paddock on the hill.

"We rode some and led some and put the two minis [ponies] on a trailer.

"We had a full day's bookings and had to cancel the treks."

Hokianga yoga teacher Gail Parlane, who lives in Omapere, was sitting on her veranda watching the harbour, which was generally flat and calm, listening to "sirens shrieking non-stop for a couple of hours".

A lot of people were driving to the viewing point on Pakia Hill to see if there was any action, she said.

Riki Kinnaird, a part-owner of the Duke of Marlborough hotel in Russell, said about 50 staff and guests had evacuated to Flagstaff Hill and the local school.

Kinnaird said while everyone was being cautious, they weren't too stressed. Many were out on their deck chairs watching the ocean, he said.

"Civil Defence in Russell have been amazing and they were certainly prepared. Everyone is pretty quick and on the mark."

However, Kinnaird said it has been "really hard" to communicate with some family and friends as the Vodafone network had been down in Russell all week. People had to rely on other means of communication, like WhatsApp, he said.

"Anyone on site was fine, but trying to connect with staff coming in at later times and everyone at home, we were struggling to get hold of those people.

"We couldn't get through using the Vodafone network because it's been down all week."