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Columns of cars evacuate people to higher ground due to the danger of a tsunami.
Four brutal earthquakes, the strongest at a magnitude of 8.1, struck New Zealand on Friday morning, unleashing a tsunami and evacuating thousands of coastal residents, Reuters reported.
The country was first shaken by a magnitude 7.2 near the North Island, followed a few hours later by a new magnitude 7.4 earthquake near the Kermadek Islands. The real horror came a little later with 8.1 on the Richter scale before the final of 6.5.
A wall of water rose towards the ocean and headed for Tokomaru Bay, but the tsunami sirens had already pushed thousands of residents off the coast, fleeing in panic towards the inland highlands, watching the high tide that it came from there. The amateur photos showed columns of cars, as well as people walking and carrying essentials.
The first warning was for expected waves of 3 meters on the Kermadek Islands and of approximately one meter on the North Island. A local told CNN that when he heard the tsunami sirens, he grabbed his bag, laptop and cat and headed up the nearby hill with dirty gas.
Thirteen hours after the alarm sounded, authorities assured that the worst was over. In the early afternoon, evacuees were allowed to return home, but most chose to stay outside. No injuries or damage were reported, but people in the area were warned not to enter the water due to dangerous ocean currents. The ferries stopped in the capital, Wellington.
A tsunami watch was issued for many other locations in the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, which is 7,500 km away. The Australian island of Norfolk was flooded with 60 cm of waves. The archipelagos of New Caledonia and Vanuatu were warned of waves of up to 3 meters, and Peru, Ecuador and Chile – that their coasts could reach waves of one meter.
The first 7.2 earthquake found the locals in their beds, as it occurred shortly after 2 at night. People describe “prolonged rocking” and “houses that squeak loudly.”
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