'Crazy' people head to beach to watch tsunami

Families begin to gather at North Head this morning to watch the threatening tsunami arrive. Photo / NZPA

People heading to the beach to watch the tsunami are crazy, says the coastguard.

Coastguard Northern Region duty officer John Cowan, said today people heading to the beach should turn around and head the other way.

The tsunami warning for the east coast had little effect on many people on Auckland's North Shore who continued to head to the beach and head to sea in their boats.

Two women having coffee on Milford Beach said they had a good vantage point and another woman about to head out on a walk to Takapuna Beach said she had her flippers.

However, Mr Cowan said the warning should be heeded and people should head to high ground.

"Stay away from the beaches. Don't go out on the water and if you are already out on the water up anchor and head to deeper water at least half a mile off shore."

Mr Cowan said the predicted metre high wave should not be a problem for many boaties provided they were prepared.

They should head into deeper water of at least 20 metres.

"If you get a wave of one metre that is common. The other issue we will experience, even if the wave is small, the tidal flow will be very strong which means if you are anchored you are much more likely to drag anchor and get into all sorts of problems."

The tide was very high which would compound the problems a tsunami would generate, he said.

"We have got almost king tides at the moment and high water tide this morning is 3.4 metres which is quite a big one."

Mr Cowan said many boats were ignoring the warning and heading out to sea but many people spoken to up and down the East Coast Bays on Auckland's North Shore were unaware of the tsunami warning.

Ports of Auckland was moving ships into deeper water, and advising boaties not to have their craft near wharves or rocks.

Boaties were told to stay out of shipping channels so that ships could be moved out of the port.

One boatie who returned to Takapuna Beach about 8am today said there were 'heaps' of boats out fishing in the Hauraki Gulf.

He said he did not have his VHF radio on and was not aware of the warning broadcast on the emergency channel.

Two other men thinking of heading out from Takapuna to go fishing in their small aluminium dinghy decided they would probably go out for an hour only when they learned the tsunami was due to trike about 10.20am today. That time was later changed to 10.50am.

The Takapuna Boating Club said its planned relay race at Takapuna Beach would be on hold until they got a clearance.

Other people were fishing from the rocks at several bays.

Mr Cowan said it appeared human nature was allowing people to head to the beaches for a vantage point.

"Out advice is to head the other way and that is echoing the advice from Civil defence. Stay away from the beach and low-lying areas," Mr Cowan said.

Maritime Radio issued regular warnings on Channel 16 about the tsunami warning.

"A tsunami warning is in effect for all New Zealand coastal areas. Mariners should follow instructions from local harbour authorities," the warning said.

Boaties heading out to sea were all warned by the coastguard of the warning as they filed their trip reports and told to head for deep water.

Despite a tsunami warning for the entire country, many New Zealanders were going about their usual Sunday morning activities, blissfully unaware of the danger.

On Auckland's North Shore people spoken to by NZPA were unaware of the warning, which was sparked by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile last night.

The tide in Auckland was very high shortly after daybreak and many houses on beaches and in the east coast bays were likely to feel the impact of a metre-high wave if it hits Auckland.

At Whitianga a resident told NZPA that a warning siren had gone off, but residents didn't know what it was, so stayed put.

Residents of a camping ground on the foreshore in the eastern Bay of Plenty, have been told they can return, said Alex Knowles of the Ohope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park, near Whakatane.

Police had told the campers to evacuate about 5.30am, Mr Knowles said.

"So we went around and evacuated the whole park. Around 7am they downgraded it."

The campers had not yet returned, he said.

"We told them all to go up the hill, so by the time we got the downgrade, they'd all gone."

- NZPA