An American scientist has warned Kiwis that tsunamis are a serious threat to "every coastal region in New Zealand" due to the lively earthquake activity near the country.
University of Washington research scientist Brendon Crowell is in New Zealand as part of a meeting between some of the world's leading tsunami experts to try to better understand the Kermadec-Tonga Trench.
Mr Crowell told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning the trench could produce earthquakes with magnitudes of 9.0 or higher - which could seriously affect New Zealand.
"There are quite a few tsunami risks here," he said.
"There's quite a few scenarios where the North and South Island of New Zealand would have some pretty significant tsunami impacts."
Mr Crowell said a tsunami generated by the trench could be devastating.
"It could go up to several kilometres inland," he said. "We've seen in other events around the world, Japan most recently, that you can get tsunami waves coming in for significant distances."
He added that, while he hadn't heard "if it's long and strong, get gone" before arriving in New Zealand, the advice was sound.
Much of New Zealand was rocked by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday afternoon - although, due to its depth, it didn't generate a tsunami.
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