Tsunami alert works, MPs told

Civil Defence will be able to give timely warnings of impending tsunamis in most situations, MPs were told yesterday.

New Zealand's tsunami alert system has been under review since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami killed tens of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and Africa. The country's preparedness came under further scrutiny in May after the BBC reported a tsunami heading for New Zealand.

At the Government administration select committee yesterday, Labour MP Dover Samuels sought a reassurance from Internal Affairs department chief executive Christopher Blake that if a tsunami were to strike his isolated Northland community he would have received sufficient warning to evacuate.

Mr Blake said since the May scare, when a communications breakdown saw local media carry the BBC story unaware that the tsunami alert had been withdrawn, an agreement had been reached with radio stations about carrying emergency warnings, and a similar agreement with television channels was close to being signed off.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre could give New Zealand up to 12 hours' notice of an impending tsunami, depending on the distance of an earthquake from this country, Mr Blake said. But if a tsunami were sparked by an event close to shore, such as a landslide in an ocean trench, there might only be a few minutes warning Mr Blake said.

"In those circumstances it's extremely difficult for anybody, even with the best technology in the world, to warn large numbers of people quickly enough."