Hawke's Bay people gather at beach - despite warning

Some people at Cape Kidnappers were not concerned by the tsunami warning. Photo / Supplied

Hasting District Council are phoning people on the Cape Coast now and warning them to stay off the beaches and keep out of the water following a Tsunami alert.

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence and emergency services are monitoring the potential tsunami threat to the region, although about 8.30am a CD spokesperson said the threat did not appear major but could result in strange marine "issues" such as unusual tidal movements.

However Hasting District Council are still acting as if the Tsunami warning is in force.

A tsunami warning issued for New Zealand following a 7.6 magnitude earthquake off the Kermadec Islands has been cancelled, but a 'marine threat' remains.

At that stage there were no plans to activate tsunami warnings for the Hawke's Bay coastline although police were advising people to stay off beachfronts as a precaution.

However our reporter on the Cape Coast at Clifton Amy Shanks said police were advising people of the Tsunami warning but some local residents did not seem concerned. She said people were collecting driftwood on the beach following a big storm last night.

Hastings Police Senior Sergeant Mike Stevenson said some action was taken as a precautionary measure as there was no Civil Defence emergency, just a marine advisory.

"If it had been a Civil Defence request we would have been involved, but it has been downgraded so we're not."

Mr Stevenson said police were going to check popular fishing spots to warn fisherman of the situation.