As a result of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, there are tsunami warnings in place for effectively the whole of the NZ coastline, but particularly the east coast. There have been 1.5m waves through the Chathams, and smaller increases recorded in NZ. The key messages from Civil Defence are that this is serious, that later waves may get bigger, and people should stay away from beaches.
Civil Defence site has regular updates.
Our thoughts are with people in Chile effected by the quake. There have been a number of deaths, and many after shocks right across the country.
UPDATE: 11.29am It seems that surges have stabilised for now, but Civil Defence warn there may be higher waves over next 6-12 hours. 1m surge reported in Northland.
I want to give my condolences to the people in Chile. I hope no one gets hurt by the tsunami.
Congratulations to Radio New Zealand for a very thorough and balanced reporting of events as they happened – professional reporting that was not being provided by any other broadcaster.
Actually, the ZB network did a very good job. I didn’t know your eye patch made you deaf to other stations as well.