Taranaki
Data kindly supplied by Westgate Transport Ltd
| Time of arrival of first wave* | 20.1 h |
| Time of arrival of highest wave* | 37.0 h |
| Height of the highest wave | 604 mm |
| Period of the highest wave | 33 min |
* hours after the earthquake.
Commentary
The tsunami waves arrived in two groups and excited the 15-minute seiche. The waves that appeared on 30 December have much lower period and are likely to have been generated by meteorological factors (wind and changing pressure).
Figure 1. Sumatra tsunami at Taranaki 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 Taranaki 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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