St John has been notified of a tsunami threat following a magnitude 8.1 earthquake north-east of New Zealand near Kermadec Islands region this morning.
St John is working with fellow agencies including the National Emergency Management Agency.
The affected areas are the west coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Ahipara, and the east coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whangarei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay including Whakatane and Opotiki, and Great Barrier Island.
We have stood up our National Crisis Coordination Centre to monitor the situation. As this is still developing, we will keep you informed as more information comes to hand.
We continue to operate emergency ambulance services throughout New Zealand so please continue to dial 111 for an ambulance in an emergency.
Please attribute to Dan Ohs, St John Deputy Chief Executive - Ambulance Operations
-ENDS-
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ngaire Jones
St John Communications Advisor
M 021 0549135
E ngaire.jones@stjohn.org.nz