Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones turns phone off, unfazed by early morning tsunami alert
A New Zealand-wide emergency alert was been issued by Civil Defence, warning of 'strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges'.
'Ministers travel with trustworthy staff members.
'I'm sure they'll get a fireman's axe and break the door open if I'm really in trouble.'
Bridge then quipped that it must make for some tense evenings with 'bored sober staff' hanging around his dinners.
A nation-wide emergency mobile alert was issued after yesterday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the Russian coast - and one of the largest ever recorded - threatened tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean.
A second mobile alert was sent out at 6.30am with the advisory still remaining in effect and not likely to be lifted until midday at the earliest.
A tsunami alert has been issued after multiple earthquakes struck off the coast of Russia. Photo / US Geological Survey
The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) warned of 'strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges' across New Zealand's shores.
'Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people,' the emergency alert read.
'There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to the shore.
'People on boats, live-aboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move on to shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials.
'If you are onshore, you do not need to evacuate. But stay away from the water,' it said.
The quake triggered a series of tsunamis in Russia, including waves that flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, where around 2000 people were evacuated.
In Japan, tsunami waves of up to 30cm reached Hokkaido, prompting evacuations, train suspensions, and heightened concern near the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific, with waves of over 3m possible in parts of Russia, Japan, Ecuador, and the northwestern Hawaiian islands.
Authorities in the Philippines and California also issued alerts, warning people to stay away from the coast.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Cruise industry brainstorms over falling foreign visitor numbers
The volatility of New Zealand's tourism policies are problematic for operators. Photo: NZ Herald/Paul Taylor The cruise sector hopes crisis talks at this year's industry conference will help chart a course through rocky financial waters. The theme of this year's NZ Cruise Association Conference - 'This is Not a Drill' - speaks for itself. Passenger numbers have fallen year on year , down 20 percent last summer and projected to fall another 20 percent this year, but NZCA chief executive Jacqui Lloyd maintains an optimistic outlook. "It is a little [like] crisis talks, but there is also a lot of positivity," she told RNZ, between panel discussions from the conference in Napier. "[We're talking about] how we all need to work together, and make sure that the messaging is going out around central and local government on how important cruise is for regional economies, particularly our tourism and hospitality operators." Lloyd expected 660 port calls and about 215,000 cruise passengers to visit New Zealand shores in the 2025/26 season. "That's down from 1120 port calls in 2023/24 and around 330,000 passengers." She said the industry could do little to adapt, rather policy change was needed to keep it from sinking. "We'd rather not adapt, to be honest. We'd like to instead make sure that we get some return in that business, and a key part of it has been around working with government on regulatory changes, transparency on increased costs, and also biosecurity risks." Lloyd said New Zealand was particularly harsh on biofouling - the build-up of algae and other microorganisms on a ship's hull. "[There's a] risk of being turned away, because we don't have a safety net in New Zealand to allow any kind of cleaning, if ships do have any issues, and cruise lines have to go off the 12-mile limit, and wait for a calm day for a diver to go down and clean the ship. "Meanwhile, passengers are on board, wondering why they're not at the destination that they had planned, so that's a real strong risk from a brand reputation and cost reputation." Lloyd said representatives from Ports of Auckland had also spoken at the conference about their plans to facilitate in-water cleaning for visiting ships. "Ports of Auckland has been speaking today about the trials they're doing for in-water cleaning, which has been positive, and they are working with MPI on how they might be able to do that going forward," she explained "That's safe cleaning, not only for the ship, but also New Zealand's environment. We don't want to let any nasties into our waters and cause concerns with our aquaculture industry." Meanwhile, the volatility of New Zealand's tourism policies were problematic for operators that often planned cruises years in advance. "Passengers will book their cruises two years in advance and we've had cases recently where government agencies have increased costs by $11, $12, $20 per passenger, with only a very short two to three-month window," she said. These challenges were causing a decline in New Zealand's global reputation as a cruise destination. "[It was] interesting talking to Princess Cruises today, who spoke at conference, and talked about the fact that the searches for New Zealand and Australia for Princess are down quite considerably on what they have been previously," Lloyd said. "We will need to do a lot of work, as a nation, to promote passengers to come back to our shores." She said job losses would be inevitable. "There will be [job losses], and that will predominantly be through hospitality and tourism providers, drivers for coaches, likely within ports for teams that usually will look after cruise vessels. "There are 10,000 jobs created by [the cruise industry] in the 2023/24 season and we do have concerns that we'll see a reduction for this season coming." Viv Beck, the chief executive of central Auckland's business association Heart of the City, said cruises were an essential source of visitors. "[Cruises] are really important and particularly at a time where spending is down, and we've had severe impacts with construction and Covid-19, and all of the above," she said. "This is one of the means of getting people in here and they arrive right on our doorstep at the bottom of Queen Street. "A reduction in numbers is definitely going to be missed." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Cruise ship season sinking fast
business tourism 27 minutes ago Napier Port has revealed its cruise ship revenue is down nearly 10%. Bookings for the upcoming season that starts in October are headed in the same direction. Cruise ship numbers in the Bay of Island have almost halved from the peak two years ago. Meanwhile, Disney Cruise Line has confirmed it will only be sailing to to New Zealand up until February 2026. New Zealand Cruise Association chief executive Jacqui Lloyd spoke to Lisa Owen.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Plans to block road acess to remote stretch of Cape Palliser
local council 20 minutes ago Plans to block road access to a remote stretch of the South Wairarapa coastline will deny sufers access to one country's most pristine surf breaks. South Wairarapa District Council wants to close access to a paper or unfinished road that leads to the Cape Palliser coast line. The council says native flora and fauna in the area been damaged by four wheel drives, quad bikes and campers. The area includes Wahi tapu sites, ancestrial burial grounds and historic pa sites. Michael Gunson first surfed White Rock along that part of the coast in 1976 and spoke to Lisa Owen.
