Tsunami flooding and evacuation zones

Click on your area to see if you are in a susceptible area. The blue areas are the maximum wet areas according to our brainy sciencey people.

(We’ve done it this way because our communities have said “just tell use which bits are most likely to get wet in a tsunami!” If you want all the sciencey information, click here to go below the map and have an all-you-can-eat sciencey buffet.)

PLEASE NOTE: WE'RE STILL COMPILING THIS INFORMATION. Some of the information is not yet fully ready. It will all be available soon on this webpage for you to view. Keep checking in!

Click on a location to find out evacuation and flooding zones.

Get your emergency kits ready! See how, here: http://getthru.govt.nz/how-to-get-ready(external link)

If you are near the coast

If you are near the coast and feel an earthquake that is LONG or STRONG: GET GONE.

A tsunami is a series of waves caused by large earthquakes. All of New Zealand’s coast line is at risk of tsunami. A tsunami wave can grow to become a fast moving wall of water.

If you are at the coast and experience any of the following:

Feel a strong earthquake that makes it hard to stand up, or a weak rolling earthquake that lasts a minute or more.
See a sudden rise or fall in sea level.
Hear loud and unusual noises from the sea.

Move immediately to the nearest high ground, or as far inland as you can. Walk or bike if possible.

Do not wait for official warnings.

For a local source tsunami which could arrive in minutes, there won’t be time for an official warning. It is important to recognise the natural warning signs and act quickly.

Remember, LONG or STRONG: GET GONE.

Additional maps to come

Firth of Thames

Waikato Regional Council, Thames Coromandel District Council and Hauraki District Council are collaborating to better understand the effects of tsunami on the Firth of Thames coastlines, with work starting July 2017.

West Coast

Detailed assessment of the tsunami threat for the west coast of the Waikato Region (Kariotahi to Mokau) shows that the tsunami threat is relatively low. There may be some threat to very low-lying areas should a tsunami coincide with a very high tide, however there will be time to understand the threat, identify any areas that may be susceptible and alert the appropriate people.

For more information on tsunami affecting the West Coast please click here.

Please download the Red Cross Hazards app - it's free!

Get emergency alerts. Send I AM SAFE messages for friends and family. Monitor up to five locations (such as the home, the bach and the kids at uni). There are step-by-step guides to assembling emergency survival items, making a getaway kit and creating a household emergency plan. And pre-loaded guides in case you lose mobile coverage.

Download the app free from the App Store(external link) or Google Play store(external link) on your smart phone.

Emergency information can also be found on the Waikato Civil Defence website(external link) and their Facebook(external link) and Twitter(external link) feeds. And listen to your local radio station.

Sciencey information

About the Coromandel map:

Blue areas outside the modelled areas represent areas that MAY be susceptible to a large scale tsunami event.
For open coast areas along the eastern Coromandel Peninsula, around 10m above sea level MAY be susceptible
Within harbours along/ the Eastern Coromandel Peninsula and the Firth of Thames, areas up to 5m above sea level MAY be susceptible. Noting that the tsunami threat decreases as the tsunami travels up rivers, harbours and estuaries.

For detailed information on tsunami, including reports and maps of tsunami water depth, speed and hazard, check out www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/tsunamistrategy