A Navy crew is heading to remote Raoul Island, in the Kermadec Islands, to check in on the weather and tsunami warning systems there.
Tsunami warnings were put in place across New Zealand last week, and people evacuated in Bay of Plenty and Northland, following three earthquakes in the Kermadecs.
However, the Government station on Raoul Island was fortunately empty at the time due to Auckland's shift to Covid-19 alert level 3.
- HMNZS Canterbury at northern most point of NZ realm
- HMNZS Canterbury working in the atolls in Tokelau.
- HMNZS Canterbury Out and About
- HMNZS Canterbury delivering water tanks, solar panels to Tokelau
The HMNZS Canterbury, with crew on board including MetService and GNS Science staff, left on Monday to check on the island’s equipment.
GNS Science remote infrastructure operations coordinator Kris O’Brien said Raoul Island’s strategic location makes it one of New Zealand’s most integral sites for monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis.
“The two tsunami gauges located on Raoul will give us information about any tsunami caused by an earthquake and act as an early warning system.”
The crews will carry out any critical repairs on the GNS equipment and attempt to improve power systems.
Maritime component commander Commodore Mat Williams said the earthquakes and tsunami warnings on Friday were a reminder of how important these early warning systems are.
The MetService staff will carry out routine maintenance work on the island’s weather station and replace a 60-year-old weather balloon launching facility.
MetService’s network observations manager Steve Knowles said this will improve safety for the DoC staff who launch balloons on behalf of MetService.
“The balloon data contributes to global weather models and adds another layer of data to help in the tracking of tropical cyclones,” he said.
An Air Force plane did a flyover of the island on Saturday and saw landslips and water discolouration on the island, but no significant damage to equipment and structures.
A BLAKE expedition, which consists of young people and teachers, was supposed to head along on the voyage, but the trip was cancelled due to the shift in alert levels.
