Waikato Tsunami Data

Purpose: This data has been published to support the Waikato Regional Hazards Portal. This data is part of the Coastal Hazards and the emergency management themes. Note layers may be slow to load. Statement: “TSUNAMI INUNDATION ZONES" (formerly known as 'Blue is wet'), are those that may be affected by tsunami in a maximum credible tsunami event, i.e. they represent the expected worst-case tsunami inundation. These areas represent areas that should be evacuated from in the event of a “long or strong” earthquake, or a tsunami warning. The tsunami inundation zones were derived differently for the different coastal areas in the Waikato. For the Coromandel Peninsula, the Firth of Thames and Kawhia Harbour, Marokopa, Awakino and Mokau, the inundation zones are a simplified version of the modelled extent for a maximum credible tsunami event – wave heights vary and there is unlikely to be time for an official tsunami warning. For the remaining populated locations of the West Coast (Port Waikato, Raglan Harbour, Aotea Harbour, Taharoa, Kiritehere and North of Marokopa, Waikawau and North of Awakino, the inundation zones are areas likely to be susceptible to tsunami, based on preliminary modelling and investigation – wave heights are likely to be relatively small, and there will likely be time for an official tsunami warning. For more information on tsunami evacuation, including Community Response Plans, the Emergency Management staff for the relevant District Council should be contacted. More information on tsunami hazard can be found on the Waikato Regional Council tsunami webpages. “SAFE ZONES” are areas that should be evacuated to in the event of a tsunami, if it is possible to do so. Note that for most of the Waikato coastline, in local (NZ) or regional (SW Pacific) sourced tsunami causing events, there is unlikely to be time for an official tsunami warning, thus follow the “Long or Strong: Get Gone” message. The Safe Zones are defined as areas in the vicinity of the coast which are above the 20m contour line. The 20m contour line is used, as for the eastern Coromandel (highest tsunami hazard in the Waikato region), this elevation is not predicted to be affected by a maximum credible tsunami event in any coastal communities. The 20 m contour is used for the rest of the Waikato Region for consistency and to be conservative (although tsunami wave heights are predicted to be lower for the Western Coromandel, Firth of Thames and West Coast – as shown by the “Tsunami inundation zones". Note that due to the low-lying nature of the Hauraki Plains, no “Safe zone” exists for this area inland. The messaging is instead to move as far away as possible from the coast and any rivers connected to the coast. For more information on tsunami evacuation, including Community Response Plans, the Emergency Management staff for the relevant District Council should be contacted. More information on tsunami hazard can be found on the Waikato Regional Council tsunami webpages. WRC Natural Hazard Information Hierarchy for “TSUNAMI INUNDATION ZONES": 2. Local to regional scale Information that is suitable to be used for District or Regional Plans, or as an initial indicator of where further investigation may be required. This information is NOT suitable for use at property scale, or for: • property specific risk assessments • resource or building consents • decisions that concern personal or public safety • the conduct of commercial business • insurance purposes Waikato Regional Council recommends further investigation and using other applicable natural hazard data, if available, for property specific purposes. The information is generally based on modelling or hazard mapping but may not include both current and future possible scenarios. Users should make sure they are using the most appropriate natural hazards data available. Data held by other organisations may be better suited for property scale use or may be more up to date. Before using any of the Waikato Regional Council natural hazard data at property scale or for subdivision development purposes please contact the Waikato Regional Council Regional Resilience team for guidance. Note that further information on resource consenting is available here. WRC Natural Hazard Information Hierarchy for “SAFE ZONES”: 3. Regional scale Information that is suitable to be used for the Regional Policy Statement, or regional scale studies/projects, or as an initial indicator of where further investigation may be required. This information is NOT suitable for use at property scale, or for: • district planning • property specific risk assessments • resource or building consents • decisions that concern personal or public safety • the conduct of commercial business • insurance purposes Waikato Regional Council recommends further investigation and using other applicable natural hazard data, if available, for property specific purposes. The information is generally based on previous events or historic mapping/aerial imagery or LiDAR. Users should make sure they are using the most appropriate natural hazards data available. Data held by other organisations may be better suited for property scale use or may be more up to date. Before using any of the Waikato Regional Council natural hazard data at property scale or for subdivision development purposes please contact the Waikato Regional Council Regional Resilience team for guidance. Note that further information on resource consenting is available here. Intended Use Scale: Data should not be used at scales greater than 1:2,500 Data Use Limits: As per statement above and disclaimers below. Data is mostly dependent on updates to LiDAR data. Once the new region-wide LiDAR data becomes available it is recommended there be a full review of all Safe Zone data. This is likely to be in 2024. Data may also be subject to changes due to any shifts in central government agency policies around the identification, mapping and use of Tsunami evacuation related data and may need to be reviewed accordingly if this happens. Data Specific Disclaimers: The Safe zones and Inundation zones data should be considered indicative only. While some areas are based on reasonably accurate LiDAR based contours, in other areas, where no LiDAR data is available, the 20m contour is based on NZTOPO50 data that is less accurate. Some LiDAR data is also old and in need of updating. Any data sets or maps derived from this information (either published or unpublished) should comply with and contain the following disclaimer: “This map has been prepared using data supplied by the eCoast under contract to Waikato Regional Council. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all liability of eCoast to any party other than Waikato Regional Council in respect of the map is expressly excluded”. “The presence of a hazard zone on this map does not guarantee the existence of such a hazard, nor does the lack of information preclude the existence of a hazard or risk. Waikato Regional Council, while providing the information in good faith, accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, or loss in value of any person, property, service or otherwise resulting from hazards or knowledge of hazards in the Waikato Region.” The standard Waikato Regional Council Disclaimer applies to this data “While Waikato Regional Council has exercised all reasonable skill and care in controlling the contents of this information, Waikato Regional Council accepts no liability in contract, tort or otherwise howsoever, for any loss, damage, injury or expense (whether direct, indirect or consequential) arising out of the provision of this information or its use by you.” WRC Metadata: See full metadata by searching for 'HAZARD.sdeadmin.HAZ_TSUNAMI_INUNDATION_ZONES' and 'HAZARD.sdeadmin.HAZ_TSUNAMI_SAFE_ZONE' under HAZARDS - Regional Hazards Portal - GIS Layers Terms of Use: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Should users wish to distribute or publish derivatives or modified versions of this data then they must seek a data use agreement through WRC first. See the Waikato Regional Hazards Portal Terms of use here Waikato Regional Hazards Portal - Terms of use | Waikato Regional Council.