Mayor Rehette Stoltz is heartened to see so many people in the Tairāwhiti and East Coast region knew just what to do when the 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit this morning.

“We know that many got in their cars and self-evacuated without waiting for an official word. The ‘long or strong be gone’ message seems to have got through.”

The earthquake struck east of Te Aroroa at 2.27am and was felt strongly across the rohe. A tsunami warning was put in place by Civil Defence but officially lifted just after 5am.

People in Te Aroroa had been quick to evacuate, as well as in Waiapu, Uawa, Mahia with many in Wainui, Okitu and around the city also heading to higher ground with families and animals in tow.

Both the tsunami threat and the danger of strong and unpredictable surges along the coastline have passed.

“Council takes its advice from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as the official source of information, and sometimes there is a delay as they do assessments and make those decisions, but we want people to move quickly,” said Mrs Stoltz.

“Now that we know our people are safe, our teams will ensure our roads and other infrastructure are all ok.”

Council’s Civil Defence arm is in touch with its many community links across the coast. There have been some early reports of minor damage with things falling from shelves in houses and businesses.

People are encouraged to make an evacuation plan so they know where they will head to in a tsunami threat, and have a grab bag with fresh water, food and other essentials.

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