Kaipara
Data kindly supplied by Northland Regional Council
Data were recorded at 5 minute intervals.
| Time of arrival of first wave* | 19.8 h |
| Time of arrival of highest wave* | 64.2 h |
| Height of the highest wave | 221 mm |
| Period of the highest wave | 78 min |
* hours after the earthquake.
Commentary
Kaipara is the largest harbour in New Zealand by far. Tidal flows in and out of the harbour reach rates of 180,000 m3/s. The tsunami waves set up oscillations in the harbour that lasted for days. Their periods were somewhat longer than those observed elsewhere.
Figure 1. Sumatra tsunami at Kaipara showing:
A. long wave record;
B. height of each wave; and
C. period of each wave.
EQ denotes the time of the earthquake (12:59 on 26 December 2004, NZST),
TOA denotes time of arrival of first waves.
Figure 2. Sumatra tsunami at Kaipara showing:
A. long wave record;
B. significant (red) and maximum (blue) wave heights;
C. period of significant waves; and
D. distribution of significant wave height with time and period.
EQ denotes the time of the earthquake (12:59 on 26 December 2004, NZST).
How were these calculated?
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