Tsunami waves 12m high inundate New Zealand's east coast in a video simulation of what could happen if a "megathrust" earthquake strikes. Within the hour, waves ranging from 5-12m could strike almost the entire east coast of New Zealand. In the south the fault is mostly on land and is a strike-slip type, creating no tsunami hazard, Ward said. Within an hour, the massive waves strike the entire east coast of the North Island, and parts of the South Island. Most recently, they've included the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami off Japan, which killed nearly 16,000 people, and the 2004 Boxing Day 9.1 quake and tsunami, which killed as many as 280,000.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 05, 2018 21:22 UTC