[ad_1]
New ZealandWhen she received the earthquake warning, Rita Baker wasn’t overly concerned, but panicked when she saw that the tsunami siren was still sounding.
Rita Baker, from the town of Russell, New Zealand, was evacuated with other residents to a hill overlooking the Bay of Islands after receiving a series of warnings about three consecutive earthquakes in less than eight hours. When she received the first warning, she said, she was not overly concerned.
“However, an hour later, the tsunami sirens sounded everywhere and in a split second I was in a panic. Just hearing that sound was enough to worry me,” Baker said.
Then Baker immediately received a call from her husband, telling him to get out as soon as possible and go to higher ground. Baker’s husband, who works at a beachfront hotel, repeatedly emphasized that the tsunami siren was not rehearsed and that his hotel was also quick to evacuate people.
“I grabbed our cat, put him in a small cage, grabbed my bag and my computer, and immediately drove up the hill,” Baker recalled.
Tsunami sirens sounded in New Zealand. Video: Twitter / Ben Noll.
Meanwhile, in Tokomaru Bay, north of the city of Gisborne, New Zealand, Ivan Lomax and other residents were continuously evacuated from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Lomax said he evacuated shortly after the first earthquake near Te Araroa around the 2:30. As soon as he returned home for a while, he resumed his evacuation due to the Kermadec earthquake around 8:30.
“Our house is about 60-70 meters from the port. We didn’t really see the tsunami coming, but we got a series of photos and videos asking ‘are you okay?'” Lomax said. Again.
Gina Chaffey-Aupouri, a Tokomaru Bay resident for the past 60 years, says she has never experienced a similar incident. “This is the first time I’ve seen the tsunami. About three waves have occurred since I evacuated. At first you will see a calm sea surface, then you will see eddies flowing in all directions,” said Chaffey-Aupouri.
A resident in Tokomaru Bay recorded video of the tsunami that entered the area hours after people found shelter high up. Residents said that when the tsunami struck, it seemed to create waters with “different colors” compared to the water in the bay.
The tsunami hit Tokomaru Bay, north of the city of Gisborne, New Zealand. Video: Twitter / ManuCaddie.
Thousands of people on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island were evacuated after a series of strong earthquakes that triggered tsunamis. Many Pacific Rim countries also issue advisories asking people near the coast to seek safe haven. Experts say this is an unusually strong series of earthquakes, even for the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where Earth’s tectonic plates collide.
Traffic jam scene when people were evacuated after the tsunami warning in the town of Whangārei on the North Island, New Zealand today. Picture: AP.
Ngoc Anh (Follow, continue CNN / Stuff / ABC News)
