National warning: Tsunami threat to beach and marine areas

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) has issued a tsunami warning (beach and marine threat) following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake located in the Kermadec Islands region.

Unusually strong and hazardous currents and unpredictable surges are expected near the shore. This means a threat to beach, harbour, estuary and small boat activities.

The severity of currents and surges will vary within a particular coastal area and over the period this warning is in effect.

Current assessments indicate that coastal inundation (flooding of land areas near the shore) is not expected but this assessment may change.

The first tsunami activity may not be the most significant. Tsunami activity will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this warning is cancelled.

People in the above coastal areas should:

• Listen to the radio and/or TV for updates and NZCivilDefence Twitter
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• Listen to local Civil Defence authorities
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• Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, this includes boats)
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• Stay off beaches and shore areas
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• Do not go sightseeing
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• Share this information with family, neighbours and friends
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This warning will remain in effect until a cancellation message is issued by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

Stay up to date:

Weather updates - MetService.

State Highways - (SH25, SH25A, SH26 in the Coromandel) NZTA. You can also call NZTA on 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49) for traffic and travel information. You can also use their journey-planning website www.onthemove.govt.nz to plan the best route for your journey, taking into account known issues and traffic on state highways.

Council roads - We will post regular updates on our Council's Facebook page as well as on our website and email newsletters. If you see an issue that needs attention, call us on 07 868 0200.

Local radio - Check stations and frequencies here.

Red Cross Hazards App - alerts about hazards. Download from the App Store or Google Play.

Emergency mobile alert - these can be sent to your mobile phone, without needing to download an app or sign up. Check if your phone is capable of receiving them, here

Waikato Regional Council has set up an online hub for rainfall and flood-related information to help people more easily keep up to date with severe weather events in the region. It can be found here.

Also follow Waikato Civil Defence on Facebook here and check out their website for updates here.

Know your neighbours - phone each other in an emergency, especially vulnerable people, to check if they're OK.

To report a power outage, contact your provider.

For more on these channels, and other information about staying informed in emergencies, go to the Civil Defence "Never Happens" website.

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