North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Tsunami alert needed in vulnerable areas
Thousands of people in north Auckland would be at risk if a tsunami struck in summer.
The Auckland Tsunami Community Exposure Analysis report, commissioned by Auckland Council, identified which communities had the greatest population exposure in the region’s tsunami evacuation areas.
Eight of the 10 most affected areas were in the Rodney, Hibiscus and Bays and DevonportTakapuna local board areas.
The report looked at areas in Auckland’s existing orange and red tsunami evacuation zones, which are largely low-lying coastal areas.
Based on the worst-case scenario modelled in the report - a fine summer’s day - the community with the highest exposure was Orewa with 6521 people within the evacuation area, followed by Browns Bay with 3597 people.
Albany Ward councillor and deputy chair of the Civil Defence Defence and Emergency Management Committee John Watson said, following the study, the North Shore should be a ‘‘prime target’’ for public alerting systems. He said Auckland Council had $2.72 million in capital funding in the Long Term Plan for such systems.
‘‘Browns Bay and the other top-ranking areas, they should be the first cabs off the rank,’’ Watson said. ‘‘The report is now going to be consulted on with local boards across Auckland. These local boards should hopefully request that this funding be used in areas of most acute vulnerability.’’
Watson said sirens were one of the most effective warning systems but needed to be used in conjunction with other methods like texts and social media.
‘‘It’s not so theoretical now, with Christchurch and Kaikoura and some of these big tsunami that have happened overseas. People are a lot more aware. It’s not so much a matter of ‘if’, it’s a matter of ‘when’.’’
Tsunami sirens are installed in the north at Whangateau, Omaha, Point Wells and Waiwera. These communities rank 100th, third, 48th, and 40th on the list of most affected communities. There are also 12 sirens in the Waitakere region.
Other communities in the top 10 were Omaha and Paremoremo West from Rodney, Silverdale Central and Stanmore Bay East, from Hibiscus and Bays, and Mt Victoria and Stanley Bay from Devonport-Takapuna.