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Posted on Sunday February 28th 2010 at 10:16 a.m.
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Check here for Tsunami updates and latest times
10.02am: Gauges are reporting a tsunami of about half a metre at the Chatham Islands, and 20cm at East Cape, Civil Defence emergency management has reported.
Changes in water level - seen as a precursor to a tsunami - have been seen is Gisborne, and gauges show changes in the Hawke's Bay and at Castlepoint, on the Wairarapa coast.
Initial surges were likely to be smaller than those to follow, Civil Defence warned. It was expected that the greatest wave heights could occur between six and 12 hours after the initial arrivals.
9.56am: Today's dragonboat racing event on Wellington Harbour has also been cancelled due to the tsunami alert and at the request of police and Civil Defence.
Wellington civil-defence Controller Mike Mendonca says it is better to take a cautious approach.
"Our advice for everyone is to stay away from beaches and low-lying coastal areas until further notice - when the all-clear is given," he said.
9.46am: Wispering Sands Beachfront Motel owner Peter Martin had been watching the sea in Gisborne and said there had been a noticeable drop in the water level.
"The water went out a wee bit and when the water dropped the water came out of the river water ... the water's looking quite dirty," he said.
"I think now the ... sea level's starting to come back in," he said.
There had been a voluntary evacuation notice issued but locals were pretty relaxed.
"I don't think people have gone as crazy as they have the past two times," he said.
9.41am: The Gisborne volunteer coastguard are monitoring 23 boats involved in a fishing competition off the coast.
Coastguard operator Jon, who would not give his last name, said they were busy keeping an eye on the Nick's Head fishing tournament.
"The police have taped off the boat loading ramp to prevent boaties leaving the harbour but these guys got out early, around 3.30am, so they are all out there.
"They are out at sea so they ok at the moment, but we've got the water draining out of the beach here.
"I'm looking down the harbour and I can see no breakers but the harbour is looking a bit empty.
The coastguard were following the civil defence updates closely, he said.
Around 30 spectators had gathered at the beach despite warnings from civil defence to avoid the area.
9.38am: The sea at Wellington's Lyall Bay has receded a small amount.
9.23am: Gisborne residents have had a quick change of heart about returning home this morning, when seas levels dropped suddenly - signalling a tsunami was imminent.
A witness said the water went "a long, long way out", dropping below low tide levels, even though it was around high tide.
Civil Defence had now blocked off all roads to the beaches.
There were still "idiots" been seen heading to the beach with surfboards on their cars, the witness said.
Civil Defence volunteers and emergency service personnel had been door knocking at beachfront homes in the city and small settlements along the East Coast advising people of the warning and recommending they move inland or to higher ground.
At that stage many people had already been contacted by relatives, neighbours and friends who had already heard of the warning in some cases on overseas media.
Most residents, by now familiar with the procedure after several alerts over the past two years, moved to higher ground automatically, "just in case".
Many boat owners, including Eastland Port, put vessels out to sea.
By 8am when the wave was due to arrive, hill tops in and around Gisborne were chocabloc with people and cars. On Kaiti Hill overlooking the city and port, a few people could also be seen on the city beachfront below, waiting to watch for a wave.
9.15am: GNS scientist Ken Gledhill says current information suggests water surges will "probably grow a bit yet" from the 50cm to "close to a metre".
So far arrivals on the East Cape and Raoul Island had been smaller then expected but the wave action had arrived fairly recently.
"Most places on mainland New Zealand it could go to a metre max and on the Chatham's it could go higher than that. And in places where there's narrow bays like on banks Peninsula it could go a bit higher."
There would be "tens of minutes" between wave peaks and people on the beach might see the water withdraw before coming back, with the first wave not necessarily the biggest.
He described the surging water as slow variations in sea levels.
"It's more or less like a river coming toward you that's ebbing and flowing a bit. It's not like a traditional sea wave."
The water would be travelling at about the speed of a car when it hit land, "so you can't outrun it", but was crossing the ocean at about the speed of a jet liner.
"The main message is that this is not a beach day basically," he said.
"There's still a possibility that an odd bay or whatever that just happens to get the energy coming in the wrong direction or right direction will splash some water around."
He expected the wave action to die down over the next day but said the energy which had been generated meant it could carry until tomorrow.
9.13am: Latest times:
Chatham Islands-Kaingaroa 7.52am - arrived
Chatham Islands-Waitangi 7.35am - arrived (height 0.5m)
North Cape 9.20am
Whangarei 9.45am
Auckland (North Head) 10.52am
Mt Maunganui 9.04am
East Cape 8.24am - arrived (height 0.1m)
Gisborne 8.29am
New Plymouth 11.26am
Napier 8.53am
Wanganui 10.20am
Wellington 8.55am
Nelson 10.35am
Marlborough Sounds (Tory Channel) 9.08am
Westport 10.38am
Greymouth 10.20am
Christchurch (New Brighton) 9.35am
Timaru 9.10am
Milford Sound 9.35am
Dunedin 9am
Bluff 9.28am
Stewart Island 9.51am
8.59am: Civil Defence says people in coastal areas should:
1. Stay off beaches
2. Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, including boating activities)
3. Do not go sightseeing
4. Share this information with family, neighbours and friends
5. Listen to the radio and/or TV for updates
6. Follow instructions of your local Civil Defence authorities
8.48am: Civil Defence reports wave activity is now about 50cm at the Chatham Islands, and 10cm at East Cape.
"It is important to note that this is the first arrival and larger waves may follow over a period of several hours. The situation continues to be closely monitored."
8.43am: In Auckland, the coastguard is warning all boaters to stay off the water.
Coastguard northern regions duty officer Nathan Snell told Stuff.co.nz preparations for a possible tsunami were well underway.
"We're suggesting that all boaters stay off the water if possible.
"We're also suggesting people avoid the beaches and marinas.
"If by chance people are already on the water, we are saying do not anchor, head to deeper water of a minimum of 20 metres and also at least half a nautical mile off shore."
8.41am: Civil Defence emergency management national controller Alan Walker is urging people wanting updates about the tsunami warning not to call 111.
"111 is not as an information service and should be used only if people need urgent assistance from fire, ambulance or police," Mr Walker said.
"Callers asking for information take up 111 operators time and can delay their responce to urgent calls for assistance."
8.38am: The revised times for the waves to reach New Zealand are: 8.24am on the East Cape, 8.29am in Gisborne, 8.53am in Napier, 8.55am in Wellington, 9am in Dunedin, 9.04am in Mt Maunganui, 9.08am in the Marlborough Sounds, 9.10am in Timaru and 9.15am in Whangarei.
Auckland Civil Defence said shipping movements would continue this morning but that all ships had been placed a "high state of readiness" in case they needed to clear the ports quickly and move to deeper water.
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8.36am: GNS says the wave is growing, and is now at 50cm. It is not expected to be destructive.
8.28am: Northland Civil Defence spokesman Jason Dawes said emergency services were on standby with people in at-risk communities warned to monitor broadcasts.
The wave was not expected to hit Northland until around 9.15am and Mr Dawes said they would monitor its impact elsewhere in the country where it was expected to arrive earlier.
Some areas such as Taupo Bay in Whangaroa had tsunami evacuation plans in place and were on standby, he said.
8.25am: A Civil Defence spokesman said GNS was now suggesting the wave was "unlikely to be very destructive" when it hit New Zealand's east coast.
However, the information they had gleaned from the surge in the Chatham Islands did not give them a "huge amount" of information on its potential impact on New Zealand's east coast, apart from suggesting it will arrive later.
The tidal gauge on the Chatham Islands now showed the surge was up to 30cm and was expected to grow over time, a Civil Defence spokesman said.
It was not a single wave, but was a surge.
He said the surge in the Chatham Islands did not necessarily mean the wave would be the same size on the mainland.
"It's got the potential to be higher," he said.
8.06am: The potential waves generated by the earthquake in Chile are now expected to hit New Zealand later than originally predicted.
A movement of around 20cm was picked up at the Chatham Islands around 7.40am today, though there was reportedly no visible change on sea levels.
"GNS scientists have obviously predicted up a water movement and they're monitoring that but it will be 20 to 30 minutes later that any activity comes towards New Zealad but they're still working on those times," a Civil Defence spokeswoman said.
7.56am: Otago Civil Defence controller Wayne Scott said they had not yet initiated a response and did not expect the area to be seriously affected.
"We are monitoring it, of course and we're really at this stage waiting on the Chatham Islands."
7.51am: The Chatham Islands has just experienced a 20cm wave - the first effects in New Zealand of a tsunami generated by an earthquake in Chile.
A Civil Defence spokeswoman said GNS Science had picked up the first water movement of around 20cm but "that's not likely to be the maximum," she said.
Waves generated by earthquakes would often come in succession, with the first not necessarily being the worst.
New Zealand authorities have been waiting on the wave's impact in the Chatham Islands in order tp gauge its potential impact on New Zealand and to base their preparation on accordingly.
7.49am: Residents of Sumner, Christchurch, have not yet been affected. On Banks Peninsula, the camping ground at Okains Bay was evacuated at round 6.30am, with campers now waiting on the top of the hill for further instructions.
7.48am: Christchurch's Sumner beach has been cleared until at least 9am as part of this morning's tsunami warnings.
A city council ranger is patrolling the main swimming beach and the promenade, warning people to stay off the beach until then. The area is popular with morning walkers, dog owners and surfers.
7.37am: Firefighters warning people to stay off Petone beach in Lower Hutt.
7.36am: Chatham Islands resident Shirley King told Radio New Zealand the locals had taken the warnings in their stride and had a good vantage point of the sea from their marae.
"We're optimistic. We live life on the edge of the planet so we're used to extremes if you will," she said.
She said they had frequent practises for such emergency events and had warning systems in place.
"If the worst happens we're in a safe place."
7.28am: Christchurch's Sumner Beach has been evacuated until at least 9am as part of this morning's tsunami warnings.
7.24am: A tsunami wave has not yet hit the Chatham Islands as expected, but other areas of New Zealand remain on alert.
Civil Defence had been waiting to hear whether the wave, created by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile, hit the Chatham Islands. It was expected at 7.05am but, by 7.10am, no wave was recorded. Civil Defence is continuing to monitor the situation and says any wave could still hit the islands late.
The quake hit 325 kilometers southwest of Santiago, at a depth of 35 kilometers at 3:34 am local time (6.34pm NZ Time), the US Geological Survey reported. A wave measuring 2.34 metres was recorded near Chile and Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area.
The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) said areas of land could be threatened on the Chatham Islands and Banks Peninsula, while waves of less than 1 metre were likely for the entire east coast of New Zealand.
Civil Defence said parts of the Chathams had been evacuated, with a wave expected to hit the Islands at 7.05am.
Canterbury CDEM group said residents in low lying areas of Banks Peninsula bays, where the tsunami was expected to arrive about 8.30am, should be prepared for an evacuation.
"People need to be ready to move to safety by 8am and may not be able to return for at least 24 hours."
The Port of Napier has begun moving ships offshore to a depth of at least 30m in anticipation of the wave's arrival, RNZ reported.
People on coastal areas were asked to stay off beaches, avoid the water (including rivers and estuaries) and refer to media or their local Civil Defence authorities for updates.
The ministry asked that people avoid calling 111 for information, reserving that number for emergencies.
Estimates show the first wave reaching the east coast of the North Island by 8am ahead of the main centres of Wellington (8.25am), Christchurch (9.05am) and Auckland (10.22am).
"The first wave may arrive later and may not be the largest. Strong currents and unusual tidal effects may continue for several hours," the ministry said.
"Based on historical events it is expected that the greatest wave heights could occur between 6 and 12 hours after the initial arrivals."
- with NZPA