Council briefs staff on possibility of large earthquake and tsunami

Council staff were briefed on the need to be ready if a tsunami were to hit. Photo/file

The risk of a large earthquake in the lower North Island which triggers a large tsunami has increased, according to scientists, prompting Tauranga City Council to encourage staff and families to be better prepared.

GNS has observed what was known as 'slow-slip seismic events' occurring in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Kapiti which suggested an increased risk of a 7.8 magnitude or larger earthquake in the lower North Island.

If a quake of that magnitude did happen it was likely to cause a large tsunami, posing a threat to coastal communities in much of the North Island.

Briefings with 300 city council staff were held yesterday to discuss the increased likelihood of a large-scale earthquake affecting the Bay of Plenty.

Tauranga City Council chief executive Garry Poole ran the briefings to encourage staff and families to be better prepared for a large earthquake and potential tsunami evacuation.

Mr Poole said the likelihood raised questions about community readiness.

"We know that our community needs to be better prepared. For our part at Tauranga City Council, we are trying to practice what we preach by ensuring that we, as council staff and members of the community, each have an emergency plan in place," he said.

The briefings follow a council meeting yesterday where tsunami sirens were put back on the table in Tauranga after the failure of text-alert systems to wake everyone.

The city council unanimously agreed to prepare an issues-and-options paper on siren alert systems, including traditional air-raid sirens.

Manager of emergency management Paul Baunton said at the briefing that an earthquake was the first warning sign for a tsunami.

"We have excellent maps for Tauranga that you should use to plan and practice your evacuation route. The maps are based on a 14m tsunami which is very much worst case scenario.

"It is especially important that you evacuate by foot or bicycle to avoid crippling traffic jams."

Staff at the briefings were given Get Ready Get Thru emergency checklists and encouraged to work through questions such as: where do my loved ones spend their day and what is the plan for my children if I can't get to them.