Kermadecs earthquakes: Why tsunami warnings last as long as they do © RNZ / Nita Blake-Persen
An earthquake researcher says new technology deployed last year has enhanced New Zealand s tsunami alert system, but there would remain uncertainty over the arrival of ocean waves after an offshore seismic event. © Provided by Radio New Zealand Watching, waiting and macramé at Whangārei Heads
On Friday a severe earthquake near the Kermadec Islands sparked tsunami alerts around the Pacific and left thousands of New Zealanders fleeing to higher ground. The 8.1 quake was the biggest of three major events in the oceans off New Zealand.
Researcher at the University of Auckland, Jennifer Eccles, told
SunLive - Why do tsunami alerts last so long? - The Bay s News First
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Kermadecs earthquakes: Why tsunami warnings last as long as they do
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NZ earthquake risk: The million-year model unravelling nation s peril
7 Mar, 2021 03:11 AM
6 minutes to read
A new state-of-the-art model may shed new light on what triggered the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Photo / Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter
A new state-of-the-art model may shed new light on what triggered the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Photo / Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter
Kiwi scientists have created a million-year catalogue of synthetic earthquakes that could help answer just the kind of big questions now swirling around Friday s shaky morning. It may also help tell us what kicked off the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake - one of the most complex ever recorded - and how certain elements of New Zealand s landscape can worsen shaking effects.
NZ quakes, tsunami warnings
Swell conditions normal in New Zealand. Credit: Benedict Adam/CCBY2.0
New Zealanders woke this morning to a series of earthquakes. The largest of them, an 8.1 magnitude quake centred near the Kermadec Islands, triggered a rush of tsunami warnings for both the east and west coasts in the country’s north.
The 8.1 quake occurred at a depth of 20km, relatively shallow for earthquakes, and conditions created could have caused a large tsunami. Fortunately, ocean conditions stayed calm.
“There are a number of complex criteria that have to come together to determine whether there will be significant tsunami, such as the speed of propagation, and whether material was displaced on the ocean floor,” said Tim Stern, a geophysicist at Victoria University, Wellington.