Risk
Kermadec Trench
Time from earthquake: 00h 45m
In this simulated tsunami, an earthquake deep under the sea in the Kermadec Trench off the North East of New Zealand generates a tsunami that strikes the coast just an hour after the event. Initially, five metre waves hit the shore, rising to eight metres on shallower stretches of coast. The shock of the quake drives the tsunami right to the top of the island and it sweeps down Northland’s west coast. Swells and breakers hit the coast for three hours after the first strikes.
Wellington
Time from earthquake: 00h 25m
The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake generated a tsunami that came ashore, without warning, within minutes. A 10 metre high wave crashed ashore on both sides of Cook Strait. In Wellington harbour, a one metre wave swept up and down the harbour at 20 minute intervals for up to 12 hours after the quake. It swamped the Hutt Valley and low-lying areas around Wellington. The waves spread around the upper South Island and Lower North Island. Porirua Harbour was also affected by rapid rise and fall of the water.
Chile
Time from earthquake: 17h 00m
In August 1868 a catastrophic tsunami spread across the Pacific following an earthquake of about magnitude 9.0 offshore from the Peru–Chile border. The earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people along the South American coast. The tsunami reached the Chatham Islands about 15 hours after the earthquake. The village at Tupuangi was destroyed and one Maori man drowned, carried out to sea while trying to retrieve a boat that had come adrift.