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New Zealand’s tsunami death toll rises

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  • James Goff

    (University of New South Wales
    University of Southampton)

Abstract

It has long been understood that New Zealand’s death toll from historical tsunamis stood at one person, drowned by the AD1868 Arica (Chile) tsunami when it inundated the Chatham Islands. The evidence for this assumption is reviewed together with other historically documented events that point to dozens of tsunami deaths in New Zealand in the historical period, possibly as high as 37. A brief introduction to the potentially rich data source provided by pūrākau (oral histories) indicates that there is a long record extending back several hundred years of catastrophic waves devastating coastal communities. More detailed research of both pūrākau and the historical record will undoubtedly reveal more tsunami-related deaths although it is not necessarily the number that is important, but rather that these data provide an enduring reminder of New Zealand’s exposure to the hazard. This is not only pertinent to New Zealand but to all Pacific Islands in general. Research has tended to focus on those countries affected by recent large tsunamis at the expense of those with potentially rich oral histories and poorly researched historical data.

Suggested Citation

  • James Goff, 2021. "New Zealand’s tsunami death toll rises," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 107(2), pages 1925-1934, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:107:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11069-021-04665-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-021-04665-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James Goff & Scott Nichol & David Kennedy, 2010. "Development of a palaeotsunami database for New Zealand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 54(2), pages 193-208, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dianyou Yu & Zheng He, 2022. "Digital twin-driven intelligence disaster prevention and mitigation for infrastructure: advances, challenges, and opportunities," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 112(1), pages 1-36, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tsunamis; AD1868; Deaths; Oral histories; Historical; Prehistoric;
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