Tsunami: Wairarapa is ready

EXPOSED: Castlepoint and the Wairarapa coast have been identified as more prone to tsunami hazard than previously thought.PHOTO/ LYNDA FERINGA WTA260913LFFLOOD22.JPG

Despite a report identifying coastal Wairarapa as one of the most hazardous tsunami areas in the country locals are not batting an eye.

The 2013 Tsunami Report, released on Monday, identifies the Wairarapa coast as one of the areas exposed to greater tsunami hazard than previously thought, with waves that could reach 15 metres above normal sea level.

Coastal areas such as Castlepoint and Lake Ferry could be some of the most affected parts of Wairarapa but residents say they are well prepared.

Lake Ferry Hotel and Camping Ground owner Mary Tipoki said she had no concerns about the increased tsunami size risk.

"I know exactly what to do. We've been told you get 10 minutes and that's as long as it will take to climb to the top of the hill and take others, if need be," Mrs Tipoki said, adding Lake Ferry residents have an evacuation plan, which they have been briefed on, and have practised several times.

"We've had plenty of warning and plenty of time for people to learn about what they need to do in the case of emergencies.

"We've had test runs, we know what to do, and we are used to dealing with day-to-day dramas," she said.

Castlepoint fire chief and Holiday Park owner Anders Crowfoot was unperturbed and said bigger tsunamis would not "make a whole lot of change".

"The evacuation points are considerably higher than that, they are basically at the top of Balfour Crescent, Guthrie Crescent and Castlepoint Woolshed, which has got generator power and alternative water supplies," Mr Crowfoot said.

He said Castlepoint had run several evacuations, which had gone "reasonably smoothly".

"I thought about having a practice, then we had a real, live one and then a year later another one, we know the routine reasonably well."

Castlepoint's tsunami procedure is well planned, with civil defence or the rural fire service giving residents an evacuation warning.

"We can either use loud speakers on the fire truck or civil defence has some portable speakers which make a big racket.

"I expect the fire appliance would be the first port of call because it gives a good visual as well."

The tsunami findings come from a 220-page GNS Science report commissioned by the Ministry for Civil Defence and Emergency Management, which updates a 2005 report on New Zealand's tsunami hazards.

The report notes earthquakes in some offshore areas, while not more likely, could be bigger than previously thought.

This is because there is now more uncertainty about the maximum size of earthquakes on plate boundaries, which means that some local and regional tsunamis could be larger than previously estimated. The main areas where tsunami pose a greater hazard than previously understood are:

the coasts of Northland, the northwest part of Auckland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel Peninsula, and the Bay of Plenty

The North Island's East Cape and parts of the Wairarapa coast

Southland, Stewart Island, Fiordland and Westland.

The estimated maximum tsunami wave heights in some of these areas have increased by about 50 per cent.

For the most hazardous areas - Northland, Great Barrier, parts of East Cape and Wairarapa - it is possible that waves could reach 15m above the normal sea level at the shoreline.

In contrast, there are parts of the North Island's west coast where the maximum tsunami height is not expected to exceed 5m.

Report compiler William Power, of GNS Science, said historical evidence showed that dangerous local or regional tsunami occurred in New Zealand every 40 to 50 years on average.

"So it is likely that at least one such event will occur in the lifetime of most New Zealanders," Dr Power said.