New Zealand tsunami warning: evacuations follow swarm of earthquakes – live

We remain in the “wait and see” stage, with the impact of the earthquake not registering uniformly on New Zealand’s shores.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the first waves were due to reach NZ at Lottin Point on the East Coast just before 10am this morning.

Since then, there have been anecdotal reports of unusual surges or sediment, higher or lower than usual water levels, and erratic movements of boats at anchor – but nothing damaging, or dangerous as yet.

Civil defence minister Kiri Allan has urged people to remain at higher ground, away from the coast even if there appears to be no threat.

Britomart station in Auckland is to close due to the possibility of flooding, Auckland Transport has advised. It is at this stage expected to reopen after high tide at 3pm.

All ferry services are on hold for now, too.

Aucklander Ben Ross paints a picture of the stakes:

Thousands of people are currently gathered at high ground across New Zealand, with waves of up to 3m high and flooding still a risk in coastal areas.

The advice to stay away from the shore has been ignored by surfers at Fitzroy Beach in New Plymouth, with Radio New Zealand reporting a group of 30 in the ocean plus more swimmers.

“I think we’re pretty safe here,” a surfer named Dale told RNZ. (Official advice says otherwise, to be clear.)

We’re expecting to hear from prime minister Jacinda Ardern at 4pm with an update on both the tsunami threat and any change to the Covid alert level. (At this stage Auckland is due to exit an alert level-three lockdown on Saturday night.)

Ardern posted on Instagram about the 2.30am quake with a screengrab from Geonet monitoring site: “Hope everyone is okay out there.”

Civil defence minister Kiri Allan says there has just been a 6.2-magnitude aftershock from the Kermadec islands, but says that is to be expected given the size of the initial quake.

She is asking that people follow civil defence instructions even if there seems to be no risk. “Although it may feel like there is not a lot going on sometimes, there is a lot going on… please do stay high, or stay inland and keep your family safe.”

She says she has been struck by the “pretty incredible calm response” of the country. “Many people have had to evacuate, many people have had to change their plans.”

Radio New Zealand’s Tom Kitchin is reporting that Tolaga Bay, northeast of Gisborne, is a “ghost town” as residents have headed for higher ground. He said there was no sign of any unusual activity at the wharf.

It has been a long day already for residents of the town, who were asked to evacuate earlier this morning before that warning was cancelled, and another followed at 8.45am.

John Townend, a seismologist and professor of geophysics at Victoria University, is talking to Susie Ferguson on Radio New Zealand about the sequence of three earthquakes.

“Following any big earthquake, we get more earthquakes.” It is less likely for subsequent earthquakes to be bigger than the first, “but it is certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility.”

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake is large enough to trigger its own aftershocks, which could register from magnitude 7.0 up. Depending on the location, depth and size of any subsequent quakes, further tsunami threats could be possible.

The current threat was hard to predict given the uncertain relationship between the initial quake and the waves’ interaction with the seabed and New Zealand coastline, Townend said. “An earthquake of this size produces a very complicated pattern of waves.”

Now was the time for vigilance, he said.

A tsunami warning is also in place for Norfolk Island, with authorities warning of “the possibility of dangerous rips, waves and strong ocean currents”.

Some localised flooding onto the immediate foreshore was expected to persist “for several hours”. Evacuations were not necessary, but people were advised to keep away from the water’s edge.