With over 75% of New Zealanders living within 10 kilometres of the coast and 400,000 residential buildings in tsunami inundation zones, World Tsunami Awareness Day tomorrow is a great reminder to learn what you can do to get prepared according to the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC).

New Zealand’s location in the Pacific makes our country vulnerable to tsunamis from many sources, including earthquakes generated in countries such as South America, but also local earthquakes, underwater landslides and volcanic activity.

"Although large tsunamis are rare, even a small tsunami can have devastating impacts in low-lying coastal areas,” says Sarah-Jayne McCurrach, NHC Head of Risk Reduction and Resilience. “The good news is there are things you can do to prepare before a tsunami occurs.”

“You can check your local or regional council maps to see if you live in a tsunami inundation zone and if so, make an evacuation plan with your family for when you feel a long or strong earthquake.”

“You can familiarise yourselves with what you would be insured for if a tsunami affects your property. Check what you’re covered for under the Natural Hazards Insurance scheme, and get familiar with your private insurance policy, including checking if you have enough cover to rebuild your home if its damaged” says Sarah-Jayne.

Homeowners with a home insurance policy which includes fire cover automatically have natural hazards cover for tsunamis as well as a range of other hazards. NHC covers the first $300k of damage to your home, then your private insurance policy kicks in. There is also limited cover for the land under and around your home.

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“And at NHC we’re helping our country get better prepared for the impacts of tsunamis through investing in research and modelling that improves New Zealand’s understanding of tsunami risk and impact around the country to help keep communities, whānau and properties safe.

“This includes supporting communities to better understand how far a tsunami may travel inland to funding the development of a national tsunami model, similar to the national seismic hazard model and supporting councils to make evidence-based decisions through land-use planning,” Sarah-Jayne says.

World Tsunami Awareness Dayis led by the United Nations.The National Emergency Management AgencyGet Ready websiteis the one stop shop for tsunami tips, including the national evacuation map and links to local and regional evacuation maps. 

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