Navy ship (HMNZS Canterbury) heads to remote Raoul Island to check tsunami warning systems

Ryan Anderson11:43, Mar 09 2021

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NZDF/SUPPLIED

Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Canterbury with Raoul Island in the background, taken during the re-supply mission in 2018.

A Navy crew is heading to remote Raoul Island, in the Kermadec Islands, to check in on the weather and tsunami warning systems there.

Tsunami warnings were put in place across New Zealand last week, and people evacuated in Bay of Plenty and Northland, following three earthquakes in the Kermadecs.

However, the Government station on Raoul Island was fortunately empty at the time due to Auckland's shift to Covid-19 alert level 3.

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LAWRENCE SMITH & CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF

The streets of many coastal towns cleared out on Friday morning as locals fled for higher ground after a tsunami warning and three earthquakes.

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The HMNZS Canterbury, with crew on board including MetService and GNS Science staff, left on Monday to check on the island’s equipment.

READ MORE:
* No-one on Kermadec Islands during earthquakes and tsunami warning
* Raoul Island DOC workers' future uncertain after Whakaari/White Island eruption
* The Kermadecs - a sub-tropical paradise with earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami

GNS Science remote infrastructure operations coordinator Kris O’Brien said Raoul Island’s strategic location makes it one of New Zealand’s most integral sites for monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis.

NZDF/SUPPLIED

Imagery from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion shows no significant damage to buildings following Friday’s earthquake near the Kermadec Islands.

“The two tsunami gauges located on Raoul will give us information about any tsunami caused by an earthquake and act as an early warning system.”

The crews will carry out any critical repairs on the GNS equipment and attempt to improve power systems.

LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF

Residents across the east coast of Northland evacuate to higher ground after a tsunami alert across the country after three large earthquakes struck off the Kermadec Islands.

Maritime component commander Commodore Mat Williams said the earthquakes and tsunami warnings on Friday were a reminder of how important these early warning systems are.

The MetService staff will carry out routine maintenance work on the island’s weather station and replace a 60-year-old weather balloon launching facility.

MetService’s network observations manager Steve Knowles said this will improve safety for the DoC staff who launch balloons on behalf of MetService.

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“The balloon data contributes to global weather models and adds another layer of data to help in the tracking of tropical cyclones,” he said.

An Air Force plane did a flyover of the island on Saturday and saw landslips and water discolouration on the island, but no significant damage to equipment and structures.

A BLAKE expedition, which consists of young people and teachers, was supposed to head along on the voyage, but the trip was cancelled due to the shift in alert levels.