Pinpoint the gnome and win

UP NORTH: This week the Far North District Council's CDEM gnome is - where? PICTURE/FNDC

The Far North District Council's Civil Defence and Emergency Management team's tsunami awareness campaign, led by the CDEM gnome, is now in its third week.

The gnome is out and about around the Far North this month, with prizes for identifying where he turns up. All you have to do to go into the draw is email ask.us@fndc.govt.nz, stating the gnome's location and one of four natural warnings of a tsunami, with your name, address and phone number.

Entries may also be dropped off at any Far North District Council service centre or library.

Each week someone will win a self-powered emergency radio that can be wound or solar-charged, including a torch and lantern, and which can be used to charge a cell phone. Entries become the property of the FNDC and may be used for promotional or marketing purposes.

CDEM team leader Bill Hutchinson said there was a real need to raise awareness of the potential for tsunamis in the Far North. The district had a well-recorded history, with four tsunamis described as moderate to large hitting on Northland's east coast in the last 150 years alone.

At least one struck the very Far North around 600 years ago, while others dating back even further were credited with felling large tracts of kauri trees in the very Far North, providing the raw material for today's swamp kauri industry.

In light of that, the district council has launched the civil defence awareness campaign, which continues in the Northland Age this week and next, Tuesday editions featuring a picture of the Civil Defence gnome at a Far North location.

If a winner cannot be contacted within two days the prize will be re-drawn. Employees of the Northland Age, FNDC and Northland Regional Council are not eligible to enter.