Tsunami

While the people of Otago went about their daily business yesterday, Civil Defence was hard at work preparing the region for a one-in-2500-year disaster.

The toll wrought by tsunamis in the Pacific and Asia in recent years has prompted two public meetings for north coast residents next week.

Dunedin Civil Defence authorities will change the way they respond to tsunami alerts in future.

A tsunami wave of about 1.5m has hit at Pitt Island in the Chatham Islands, Civil Defence emergency management has reported.

Dunedin police adoped a "better safe than sorry" approach today amid a tsunami warning for New Zealand's east coast.

The tsunami warning in place for New Zealand has been downgraded to an advisory by Civil Defence.

Up to 200 South Otago residents moved to higher ground, 60 campers at Hampden were evacuated, Dunedin beaches were closed and about 500 people on the Otago Peninsula were personally warned about possible dangers yesterday in the wake of nation-wide tsunami alerts.

Did Otago authorities and residents overreact or underreact to yesterday's tsunami alerts?

The 40 retirees enjoying summer vacation at a seaside campground nestled under pine trees knew they had to move fast after Chile's powerful earthquake struck. They didn't make it.

Striking a balance between acting upon legitimate safety concerns, and unduly alarming people, needlessly disrupting their lives, is a delicate business.

The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that "urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."

Gisborne residents have had a quick change of heart about returning home this morning, when seas levels dropped suddenly -- signalling a tsunami was imminent.

In the Northland charter boat port of Tutukaka the first of the surges to hit the coast was about a metre high and turned the normally placid harbour into a 'washing machine.'

An official at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after a major earthquake sent powerful waves roiling around the Pacific.

There is a sense of optimism among Samoans displaced by the recent tsunami