Wanganui Civil Defence monitoring tsunami situation - 28/02/2010Wanganui Civil Defence has today been monitoring the local situation following the tsunami warning issued by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) which is the lead agency for tsunami warnings in New Zealand.
The Ministry’s warning said there may be some small observable sea level changes on parts of the west coast of both islands. Wanganui’s high tide (2.9m) occurred at 11am on Sunday, with an approximate 20cm tide increase anticipated.
Wanganui Civil Defence has been monitoring MCDEM updates throughout the night and today. Updates from MCDEM started at 8.30pm on Saturday (but at that stage stated there was no threat to New Zealand). After monitoring updates throughout the night, the Civil Defence duty officer called in a small team of staff to Civil Defence headquarters just after 6am on Sunday following an upgrade of the tsunami threat.
Wanganui Police and Coastguard were advised of the tsunami warning, with the Coastguard notifying boaties. No problems have been reported.
The Civil Defence group has been stood down and the Civil Defence duty officer will continue 24 hour monitoring of the situation.
During a tsunami threat, people in coastal areas should:
1. Stay off beaches.
2. Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, including boating activities).
3. Do not go sightseeing.
4. Share this information with family, neighbours and friends.
5. Listen to the radio and/or TV for updates.
6. Follow instructions of your local Civil Defence authorities. | 
