Tsunami text warning fails

APOLOGY: Horizons Regional Council text message sent after the tsunami alert system failed.

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The failure of a tsunami text alert system yesterday has seen Horizons Regional Council dump the warning service.

About 400 people received a text nearly three hours after yesterday's tsunami was due to hit the region's shores.

The warning text was delivered about 11.56: "Estimated wave East Cape and Mt Maunganui 1m-0922. Stay tuned to local media for more information."

Horizons inherited the free text service last year when it took over Manawatu District Council's civil defence work, emergency services manager Shane Bayley said.

Mr Bayley immediately cancelled the service run by OPTN after complaints came in about the glitch. "It's just not good enough."

Earthquakes in the Pacific caused a tsunami which hit Samoa and American Samoa killing at least 40 people, including a Kiwi.

Fears of a one-metre wave hitting Napier about 10.40am, Wellington about 10.50am and New Plymouth about 12.17pm were allayed yesterday afternoon.

But there were reports of a 40cm tsunami wave on the East Cape, Mr Bayley said.

"It's not big but those waves act differently from ordinary tidal waves, they have more energy behind them."

Impact times for west coast beaches in Horowhenua and Wanganui were not calculated but fire brigades kept people off beaches and a helicopter flyover made sure no-one was swimming or fishing, Horizons emergency services manager Shane Bayley said.

A Palmerston North man who signed up for the civil defence alerts in 2006 said the first text arrived after a tsunami wave measuring 40cm hit the East Cape.

"When I heard it's all over and done with, that's when I got the first text saying watch out for it. If you rely on it and it comes about three hours late you're done for."

A duplicate text was delivered minutes after the first. "They stuffed up."

Then an apologetic text was sent about 12.30pm: "The performance of the OPTN system this morning was not satisfactory. We will be investigating."

OPTN were contacted by the Manawatu Standard but failed to return phone calls. The text marketing company provides civil defence text alerts to seven councils.

Another Palmerston North man who signed up to the alerts for Manawatu and Rodney District said he got the apology text between two warning text yesterday.

"There was also another text that I'm connected to with the Rodney District and their's was two hours late."

He had experienced similar delays when a lahar ran down Mt Ruapehu in 2007.

Horizons sent out a mass text to rally about 1000 staff and emergency personal through a company based in Melbourne – it took about 10 seconds, Mr Bayley said.

He urged people to listen to the radio during an emergency situation.

The Tararua District Council evacuated about 60 residents from remote east coast settlements Herbertville and Akitio, both about 60km from Dannevirke.

"Emergency services and civil defence looked at the potential of a wave coming up the beach and collectively we decided it's better to be safe than sorry."

Herbertville Motor Camp manager Pam Barber said they moved to higher ground about 10am and returned about noon. "None of us were really worried but it has certainly taught us a lot, especially [as] if we were full there would have been 300 people staying here."

- © Fairfax NZ News