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Tsunami – coming to Northland says experts
Wednesday 27 July 2005
In 1960 there was a wave of about three metres at Tutukaka Harbour now
a popular Northland marina, and in the 15th century at Henderson Bay in
the Far North there is evidence that a tsunami ran up at least 32 metres
above sea level, although the wave may have only been seven metres high.
Tsunamis have come in the past and they will come again to the region
in the future says Tsunami expert Dr James Goff.
Dr Goff is one of three tsunami experts touring the North Island giving
the Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) Pickering Lecture 2005.
Speaking in Whangarei on the 8th August, the experts will be discussing
the devastation in the Indian Ocean from the Boxing Day Tsunami, the different
aspects of tsunami phenomena, and the impact it would have on Northland’s
infrastructure and coastline.
Alastair Barnett, a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers
(IPENZ), is a Hydraulic Modelling Engineer and a renowned leader in tsunami
hazard control design who will be describing the implications of providing
inundation protection.
“It has been mooted we should upgrade our early warning systems,
and while this should reduce casualties, it would do almost nothing to
reduce the economic impacts from damage to infrastructure and housing.
We need to make allowances for tsunami hazards a routine part of planning
for development,” he said.
Dr William Power, a scientist with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear
Sciences, is currently involved in modeling tsunami which reaches New
Zealand from South America, and he has been involved in calculating the
propagation of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
Venue:
IPENZ NORTHLAND BRANCH
8 August 2005 – 7.30pm
Cafler Suite
Forum North
Whangarei
The Pickering Lecture is so named after Sir William Pickering, an eminent
New Zealand engineer who worked on the US space programme. William Pickering
generously lent his name to this lecture series after he gave the keynote
address at the 2002 IPENZ convention.
Speakers:
E = mv 2:Einstein, energy and engineering for tsunamis
by Dr Alastair Barnett
Dr Alastair Barnett FIPENZ, is a Hydraulic Modelling Engineer, and his
firm Barnett & MacMurray Ltd are world leaders in tsunami hazard control,
and will be describing the implications of providing inundation protection.
He was a consultant on Te Papa.
Tsunami sources affecting New Zealand: What we know and what we need
to find out
by Dr William Power
Dr Power is a Scientist with GNS and has done modelling of tsunami waves
entering Wellington Harbour, and will explain the earthquake mechanisms
for triggering a tsunami.
Tsunamis from start to finish: What happens in your backyard
by Dr James Goff
Dr Goff is a senior scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research Ltd (NIWA) based in Christchurch.
For more information contact:
Kathryn McGavin
Branch Facilitator
Branchfacilitator@ipenz.org.nz
Phone: 04 473 9444 ext 821
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