Aerial photos showing traffic on the Ōhope Hills after a tsunami warning on the Bay of Plenty coastline on March 5. Photo / File
Aerial photos showing traffic on the Ōhope Hills after a tsunami warning on the Bay of Plenty coastline on March 5. Photo / File
Eastern Bay leaders are stoked with how the Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki communities reacted to Friday's tsunami threat.
East Coast MP and Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan along with Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki mayors Judy Turner and Lyn Riesterer were impressed with how quickly communities evacuated and the compassion shown for others during the long hours waiting on the "all clear".
Allan said although there were always things to improve on, "by and large" she was particularly pleased to see many people evacuate without waiting for official advice.
Like the rest of the country, Allan was woken by the strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake around 2.30am on Friday.
Soon messages began pouring in with photos of many coastal communities, including Ōhope, evacuating to higher ground.
"It's great to see our messaging around if its 'long or strong get gone' being taken up by people," she said.
"In that situation you can't wait for official advice and it's awesome to see people pay heed to that and head for the hills."
Allan said Friday was a unique situation in which the earthquake, felt by most in the country, was followed by two large quakes near the Kermadec Islands, 7.4 and 8.1 magnitudes in size.
Not many in the community felt them and this is when many relied on official warnings to evacuate low-lying Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki and surrounding areas.
"It was one of the largest evacuations we have ever had," Allan said.
"It was pleasing to see how well people evacuated across the country and I take my hat off to teachers who had to corral students up hills and to high school students who shared their food with others."
She also wanted to thank emergency staff, including volunteers, for the work they did during the event. Allan said she believed there would be a need to re-emphasise that people could walk or cycle to safety – there was time and there might not be a need to get into a car.
She said it was typical for first warnings not to include specific timeframes for first wave impact as that could take time to work out and Civil Defence focused on getting information out as quickly as it came in.
Unlike most of the country, Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner was not sound asleep when the first earthquake happened, she was answering emails.
Turner thought it could be serious and joined others on top of the hills surrounding Whakatāne.
"I just wanted to check that everyone was alright; it can be daunting doing things like this in the dark," she said.
Turner was pleased with how the community responded, the kindness it showed and how well Allan handled the event. Less than 10 minutes after the original earthquake, Allan had contacted Turner to say it could become quite serious.
When the second earthquake hit, Turner and deputy mayor Andrew Iles once again took to the hills and were impressed to see people living in the surrounding neighbourhoods opening their homes and providing food and shelter to those evacuated.
"We did what was needed and we responded the way we should have," Turner said.
"I understand for some it was frustrating, scary and even boring but we all did really well."
Ōpōtiki mayor Lyn Riesterer said other than a few burgling empty homes, she was very happy with how her community handled the emergency. She sheltered at home with family and a group of friends and gave water to people waiting in the sun.
"Overall, it went really well, I'm so glad the evacuation order came during the daylight," she said.
"Mostly it was very orderly and calm, and people made sure to look after each other. It went very well."
Many marae in the area opened their doors to those who needed to evacuate and made sure schoolchildren were fed and watered.
Riesterer was disappointed some refused to leave their homes and that others took advantage of the situation and broke into some homes.
"That was only a few, it was a tiny percentage that let us down," she said.
"I'm pleased that so many did take heed of the warning and the first earthquake that everyone felt may have helped people realise it was serious."
After the all-clear, Riesterer went to her mother's home to clean up a glass table that had shattered during the first earthquake.
Whakatane Hospital "exemplary" tsunami response
Whakatane Hospital staff's experience in emergencies shone through on Friday with a patient saying their response to the tsunami threat was exemplary and he couldn't have been in better hands.
Warren "Skilly" Skilton said while the rest of the town was scrambling for the hills, he and other patients who couldn't be moved from the hospital received five-star treatment from hospital staff who remained calm.
"They couldn't have done any better, you couldn't get a better team even if you wanted it," he said.
Fifty patients remained at the hospital and they were tended to by 120 staff.
Emergency Operations Centre and hospital operation teams at Whakatāne and Tauranga Hospitals worked together during the tsunami alert response. Photo / Supplied
The Whakatane Hospital is not in Civil Defence evacuation zones but, as a precautionary measure, the patients were moved to the first floor of the Dawson Block.
Skilton said patients were led from their rooms single file and once they were safe upstairs, they "couldn't want for anything".
"They made sure we were comfortable and there was food and fluids coming from the kitchen continuously," he said.
The way the team of cleaners, security staff, doctors and nurses worked together was particularly impressive to Skilton as well as how well staff communicated with patients to put their fears at ease.
"There was no panic, there was no need for it, they had everything under control," he said.
"Communication throughout was great, we knew exactly what was happening, they had news coming over through the speakers. We knew everything that was going on."
The patients were moved back to their rooms around 2pm to find cleaners had already ensured rooms were comfy and ready.
"I didn't have a worry in the world," Skilton said. "We should feel proud of our hospital staff."
Whakatane Hospital coordinator Dave van Dijk said as well as the staff who stayed behind to care for patients, a team of Emergency Department staff was available for the possibility of incoming patients and a plan was in place to move all staff and patients if needed.
Unfortunately, because of the tsunami warning 13 patients had treatments or procedures postponed and 11 outpatient appointments were deferred.
Van Dijk said these patients would be offered a new appointment as soon as possible.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Pete Chandler said he was thrilled with the "swift and exemplary" actions of the DHB's emergency and operational management teams in response to the tsunami alert.
"This ensured the rapid activation of our Emergency Operations Centre and the teams involved continued to work together across our Whakatāne and Tauranga hospital sites," he said.
"We have learned a lot from other emergency events such as the Edgecumbe flooding, Whakaari eruption and Covid-19 response. Every emergency situation, including Friday's tsunami alert, allows us to add extra expertise and learnings into our toolkit for future responses, ensuring the utmost is done to provide care for the communities we serve."
