15 Years On: Hawke’s Bay urged to practise tsunami hīkoi

Hawke’s Bay Emergency Management is urging residents to practise their tsunami evacuation routes during Tsunami Hīkoi Week, marking 15 years since the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami.

This year Tsunami Hīkoi Week runs from 9–15 March. The annual initiative marks the anniversary of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, which claimed more than 15,500 lives in the Tōhoku region.

The disaster also demonstrated the importance of preparedness. Public education and practising evacuation routes helped save the lives of more than 95 percent of people who safely evacuated after recognising the natural warning signs of a long or strong earthquake.

Tsunami Hīkoi Week encourages people living or working in coastal areas to practise their tsunami evacuation route — their “tsunami hīkoi” — by walking or biking to high ground or inland, out of the Blue Tsunami Evacuation Zone.

Hawke’s Bay Emergency Management Director Shane Briggs says practising your route now makes it much easier to respond quickly in a real emergency.

“In a local-source tsunami, there will be little time to think. If you feel a long or strong earthquake, that is your warning: get gone. Don’t wait for an official alert,” Shane Briggs said.

“We are particularly exposed to tsunami risk here in Hawke’s Bay, as Aotearoa’s largest and most active fault, the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, lies just off the East Coast.

“Subduction zones generate the largest earthquakes and tsunami in the world. Like Japan, the Hikurangi Subduction Zone sits close to shore, meaning a tsunami from this source could arrive within minutes of a long or strong earthquake, leaving no time for official warnings,” Shane Briggs said.

Recent research led by Charlotte Pizer from Victoria University of Wellington indicates there is a one-in-four chance of a Hikurangi Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami occurring within the next 50 years.

“We can’t predict when it will happen, but we can control how prepared we are,” Shane Briggs said.

“Learning and practising your tsunami evacuation walk is a simple but potentially life-saving action that helps build our collective community resilience.

“This week, everyone should take the time to check if they’re in the tsunami zone and remember: if an earthquake is long or strong, get gone. Move immediately to high ground or inland, out of the blue zone,” Shane Briggs said.

How to practise your tsunami hīkoi

• Check whether your home, work, school or community meeting place is in the Blue Tsunami Evacuation Zone at https://www.hbemergency.govt.nz/hazards/tsunami/
• Plan a route that takes you safely out of the zone.
• Plan to walk or bike if you can. If everyone evacuates by car, roads can quickly become congested, delaying emergency services and those who need vehicles to get to safety.
• Decide where you will go and make sure everyone in your household knows the plan in case you are not together.
• Practise your tsunami hīkoi with your whānau, colleagues or classmates. If you have a pet, you could even walk them along your evacuation route.

ENDS

6 March 2026

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