Harbour feels surges from Chilean tsunami

The ripple effects of the killer Chilean earthquake have been felt in Northland.

Swell surges from the tsunami that followed the 8.2-magnitude earthquake were reported at the Tutukaka Harbour all day Thursday.

Tutukaka Marina general manager John Warren said the surges started before 8am, and had started decreasing in size in the late afternoon. He described the earlier surges as "reasonably significant" - about 700mm high and occurring every 20 minutes.

"At the entrance there was very strong current, which made it dangerous for boats to enter and leave the marina," he said.

"It happens quite often, it's nothing really out of the ordinary any more."

The surges followed the 10km-deep earthquake, 99km northwest of Iquique, Chile on Wednesday.

The quake, and more than 20 strong aftershocks, struck off the coast of Chile and left five people dead, two from heart attacks, and three seriously injured.

A tsunami alert was in place for Chile and Peru for six hours.

Officials in Chile ordered the preventative evacuation of its coastline but this was hampered by landslides. By the time the effects of the earthquake reached New Zealand, however, the tsunami threat was all but gone.

Jeroen Jongejans, co-owner of Dive Tutukaka and chairman of the Northland Tourism Development Group, said the surges were noticeable but not huge.

"It is interesting to note that, coming from the other side of the world, it still impacts our coast," he said.

The yellow marine lights on the tsunami sirens at Tutukaka were switched on to indicate the harbour was closed.