Boaties around New Zealand say they’re checking moorings and keeping an eye on the seagulls, following a safety warning from officials to go ashore overnight.
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake, which struck about 11.30am NZT, has prompted warnings from the National Emergency Management Agency of strong currents and unpredictable surges.
Nema said surges would affect coastal areas nationwide from midnight, reaching Lottin Point, north of Gisborne first, and people should stay away from beaches and out of the water until all warnings were lifted.
It advised people to stay off beaches and away from the shore, not go out to watch, and for people who live on boats to move onto shore overnight, but said there was no need to evacuate other areas as coastal flooding was not expected.
Andy Garden, who lives onboard his yacht in Napier Marina, said he was keeping an eye on the local seabirds.
“There are very few seagulls out here at the moment,” he said. “That’s usually a depiction of animals going further out, going fishing … which means that it’s not going to be anything too major.”
He said so far, no one had left the marina because of the warnings.
But he said he would be checking other people’s moorings, as well as his own – just in case.
“Always be prepared for anything that might happen on the water, because the ocean, she just don’t give back,” he said. “She’ll bite you in the butt without even looking at it.”
The Coastguard said it was broadcasting the latest Civil Defence updates to people on the water nationwide via VHF radio, and urged people to move off the water and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.
Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the arrival time for waves in the capital was about 1am.
“On the upside of that, there shouldn’t be a lot of people at the beach, but around the waterfront there may be waves, there may be unusual currents,” he said.
“The Porirua Harbour and the channel there, we know it can react in interesting ways.”
KiwiRail, which owns Cook Strait ferry company Interislander, said it was monitoring the situation closely, and it was likely the two evening sailings would take the wider Northern Entrance in and out of the Queen Charlotte Sound as a precaution.