Tsunami

The 40 retirees enjoying summer vacation at a seaside campground nestled under pine trees knew they had to move fast after Chile's powerful earthquake struck. They didn't make it.

Striking a balance between acting upon legitimate safety concerns, and unduly alarming people, needlessly disrupting their lives, is a delicate business.

The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that "urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."

Up to 200 South Otago residents moved to higher ground, 60 campers at Hampden were evacuated, Dunedin beaches were closed and about 500 people on the Otago Peninsula were personally warned about possible dangers yesterday in the wake of nation-wide tsunami alerts.

Did Otago authorities and residents overreact or underreact to yesterday's tsunami alerts?

The tsunami warning in place for New Zealand has been downgraded to an advisory by Civil Defence.

Dunedin police adoped a "better safe than sorry" approach today amid a tsunami warning for New Zealand's east coast.

An official at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after a major earthquake sent powerful waves roiling around the Pacific.

In the Northland charter boat port of Tutukaka the first of the surges to hit the coast was about a metre high and turned the normally placid harbour into a 'washing machine.'