Auckland region's prehistoric tsunamis

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-16 03:00

New Zealand

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Strong evidence that tsunamis took place thousands of years ago has been found at three Auckland-region beaches. Researchers discovered this by looking at sediment on the Tawharanui Peninsula and two beaches on Great Barrier Island. They say their findings suggest Auckland has a very low risk of tsunami land inundation, or alternatively, there is a very large interval period between tsunamis - perhaps longer than 5,000 years. However the scientists believe their work is only scratching the surface of what could be found.