TSUNAMI PLAN VITAL
Tairawhiti residents will need to reassess their evacuation plans in the event of a tsunami following the release of a report and maps showing inundation zones for the region.
The new Tsunami Inundation Assessment Report was released today on the Gisborne District Council website following a process of peer review over 2019,
The final review by GNS Science, initially scheduled for February 2020, was completed this week.
A council statement said the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group approved publishing the report following confirmation the information met the required national standard for tsunami modelling.
The report and maps are based on new research into modelling of a local tsunami generated from a magnitude 8.9 earthquake centred in the Hikurangi subduction zone off the East Coast.
GDC chief executive Nedine Thatcher-Swann said the council requested a final review to ensure the zones that could be affected by a local tsunami were acceptable.
“The review of the report ensures we can give our community greater confidence in the information and identify as accurately as possible those areas and people who could be affected.”
The maps will be the basis of a readiness campaign aimed at educating affected communities, residents and businesses to prepare and rehearse evacuation plans.
“As a region we are vulnerable to tsunami of any size at any time. It's crucial we all have a plan and know what to do based on the new information.
“As we come together over Christmas this is a good time to talk about evacuation plans and preparing emergency kits,” Ms Thatcher-Swann said.
“We will continue to enjoy our beaches over the summer, but please remember the message ‘if there's an earthquake that's long or strong, get gone' — get to higher ground immediately or as far inland as possible.”
The report, including inundation maps and information, is available at www.gdc.govt.nz/civil-defence. Evacuation routes will follow, a council statement said.
The region is susceptible to a mega-thrust earthquake due to its proximity to the Hikurangi subduction zone, where the Pacific plate dives beneath the Australian plate.
Development of a recovery plan in the wake of a mega-thrust earthquake is already under way.
Last year five Civil Defence Emergency Management groups from across the North Island's east coast — Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti (Gisborne), Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Whanganui and Wellington — started working with umbrella group East Coast Life at the Boundary (LAB) to develop a government-funded Hikurangi Response Plan in the event of a rupture of the subduction zone
The Hikurangi subduction zone runs the length of the North Island's east coast, passing as close as 40 kilometres offshore of Gisborne.
The emergency plan will set out how Civil Defence, in the areas most likely to be affected, will respond to a Hikurangi subduction zone earthquake and tsunami.
The final plan will not be ready until 2021 but scientists have developed a credible magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami scenario, which is being used to determine potential impacts, response priorities and resource requirements.
Download the maps below from the GDC website: