Warning not shared over massive waves

Authorities knew massive waves were thundering towards Wellington’s south coast but nobody told residents or the council.

Homes were evacuated at O¯ whiro Bay last Wednesday when towering waves slammed the coastline, dragging a person out to sea and damaging homes. Residents got no warning of the coming waves, which arrived on a calm, blue-sky day.

News that Wellington Mayor Andy Foster is waiting till after the Covid-19 lockdown for a full debrief on the situation was too little, too late for Eugene Doyle, of the O¯ whiro Bay Residents Association.

At a virtual meeting held by the association last night, it was revealed Wellington City Council had not signed up to get big wave alerts from weather experts. ‘‘Lives could be lost next time if they wait till the end of Covid and then forget about it,’’ Doyle said.

The fact the council acknowledged it had no protocol to be warned, then alert residents, of big waves was shocking, he said.

‘‘We were lucky we were just picking up debris, not cleaning up bodies.’’

Niwa forecasting principal scientist

Chris Brandolino confirmed that two days out from last Wednesday, models were predicting 4 to 6-metre waves. But there was no plan in place for Niwa to warn the city council.

‘‘Niwa would be happy to help if people wanted to have a conversation with us,’’ said Brandolino.

Metservice’s Ramon Oosterkamp said Wednesday’s damaging waves were a one-in-five-year event brought on by a number of factors – such as a high tide and big spacing between waves – on top of waves up to 6m.

MetService issued wave warnings if requested by councils and sent Greater Wellington Regional Council a warning of the same waves hitting Lake Ferry.