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Tsunami monitoring and detection system to be established
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare announced in December the deployment of a network of Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys.
“New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” said Mr Peters.
“DART buoys are the only tried and repeatedly tested technology that confirms the generation of tsunami waves before they reach the coast. This is particularly critical for unfelt earthquakes originating from the Kermadec trench.”
“Until now, New Zealand has been reliant on a single, aging DART buoy. This is a shocking inadequacy that we have addressed with urgency,” said Mr Peters.
New Zealand faces significant lifethreatening tsunami risk. New Zealand’s geographical and geological place in the Pacific, puts us at risk from many different tsunami sources, some may be generated and arrive at our nearest coasts in less than an hour.
“We are establishing a network of fifteen DART buoys to provide early detection and support warnings for tsunami generated from the Kermadec and Hikurangi trenches right on our doorstep,” said Mr Henare.
Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami, or DART, buoys are deep-ocean instruments that monitor changes in sea level. They are currently the only accurate way to rapidly confirm a tsunami has been generated before it reaches the coast, which is particularly critical for unfelt earthquakes originating from the Kermadec trench.
DART buoys detect tsunami threats by measuring associated changes in water pressure via sea floor sensors. They are capable of measuring sea-level changes of less than a millimetre in the deep ocean.
Two-way communication between a DART buoy and a 24/7 monitoring centre allows rapid assessment of the potential threats.
Early detection of a tsunami using DART buoys allows authorities to accurately provide early warnings to the public using a range of communication channels including Emergency Mobile Alerts.
“This system will provide rapid confirmation if a tsunami has been generated, and will enable more accurate warnings of tsunami that can be communicated via public alerting systems like Emergency Mobile Alert,” said Mr Henare.
“This is about saving lives – people are at the heart of what we do,” continued Mr Henare.
GNS Science’s National Geohazards Monitoring Centre will support the 24/7 monitoring to receive, process and analyse the data from the buoys, and the National Emergency Management Agency will issue tsunami warnings and advisories to the New Zealand public.
The DART buoy network will also provide tsunami monitoring and detection information for Pacific countries, including Tokelau, Niue, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Samoa.
The establishment of the New Zealand DART Buoy Network is part of the Emergency Management System Reform, a range of initiatives aimed at improving the emergency management system. These include the establishment of a new National Emergency Management Agency and the establishment of the Emergency Management Assistance Team.
Improvements to the consistency of warnings was prioritised in the Government’s ‘Ministerial Review: Better Responses to Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies in New Zealand’.
