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Joined: 05 Nov 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:51 am Post Subject: Don't buy beach front property in Auckland
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have made many of us realise the very real threat of grand scale disaster in our fragile world. And, personally speaking, I think one of the reasons it had so much impact, is because these disasters hit big western world regions. For many, seeing a famous city like New Orleans fall victim to such devastation and seeing bodies floating in flooded city streets etc (and in a significant country like the States), made the situation very much more real.
Ultimately, I think this realisation of seriousness is a good thing. We cannot afford to be complacent here. New Zealand is turning out to be somewhat of a paradise in so many ways, when you compare what we are lucky enough to enjoy here with many countries around the world, including those like the USA, Britain and Australia. However, we are also vulnerable to natural disaster...
Stuff wrote:
Tsunami could hit Auckland with little warning - scientist
Auckland could be hit with little or no warning by a south-bound tsunami from the Pacific Ocean near Fiji, a scientist has warned. Dr James Goff, of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, told a meeting of civil defence managers yesterday that Aucklanders needed to be more aware of the dangers of tidal waves in view of the Boxing Day Tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Devastated Sri Lanka was similar to many places in New Zealand in having a long narrow stretch of exposed coast, which was open to wave after wave.
One of the three waves which hit Sri Lanka was 2m high and 3700 people were killed and buildings destroyed.
Auckland, too, could face a tsunami threat caused by earthquake, landslide or volcanic eruption.
I read this disturbing article in this morning Herald Mel. Also mentioned in both articles:
Quote:
It could come from three distant areas - South America, the Tonga-Kermadec Trench (about 1000km north-east of Auckland), and the volcanic zone up north near Fiji.
Last night I read there was a Magnitude 7.5 - in Northern Peru which occurred 01:55:39 UTC on 26 September 2005.
A number of years ago, in the late 1960s or early 70s there was a small tsunami that hit Auckland.
We had a beach cottage on the water on the Hibiscus Coast and we used to go there most weekends. On the weekend in question we heard on the news that there had been an earthquake in Chile and there was the possibility of a tidal wave hitting the New Zealand coast. People were warned to stay away from the coast and if a wave came to head for the hills.
When it came, on the Saturday, I remember the tide going out an exceptionally long way, then coming in very quickly, probably in about half the normal time. It was a very high tide which came over our sea wall and onto our lawn. The car, parked at the end of the drive by the sea wall had water almost half way up the tyres. As I remember there were two large tides, the second somewhat smaller than the first, and an hour or so earlier than normal high tide time, then everything went back to normal.
Apparently the wave had lost most of it's power on the way from Chile to New Zealand and there was no damage resulting from it. And from memory the earthquake, although fairly significant in Chile, was not huge. Fortunately New Zealand was far enough away from Chile to give us a reasonable amount of warning that it could hit, but nobody seemed to know for sure whether it would or not, or how big it was going to be.
When I think about it now we were pretty foolish to stay there in the face of that danger, but nobody seemed to take it all that seriously. In fact many people headed for the coast to be sure to see it all.
A larger upheaval in the region of South America or closer to home, in the Pacific could have a much more devastating effect. It seems like there's a quickening of catastrophic events occurring around the world.
I agree with you Mel, we cannot afford to be complacent
Here is some information about the tsunami you mention in your post. I imagine you experience was a bit of an adventure at the time. I am sure we would all treat a tsunami warning now with a little more respect.
Quote:
New Zealand is located well out into the Pacific Ocean in such a place as to be very vulnerable to remote tsunami generated by earthquakes or underwater landslides along the Pacific Rim, even as far as Alaska. Tsunami from South American sources probably pose the greatest “external” tsunami threat to New Zealand. A graphic reminder of this was the 22–23 May 1960 tsunami from Chile that produced a maximum height of 5.5 m in Lyttelton Harbour, and also affected other harbours along the east coast such as Gisborne (see picture). The largest known tsunami in New Zealand occurred in August 1868 following earthquake fault movement in Chile. This tsunami took 15 hours to travel to New Zealand and had a wave height that reached up to 8 m in parts of the east coast, Particularly Lyttelton.
