Did you evacuate last night? Did you feel the earthquake?

Teresa Ramsey Reporter from Hauraki Herald

Thousands of Coromandel residents ran for the hills after tsunami sirens sounded following last night's earthquake in Culverden, in the South Island.
At about 2am this morning, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake prompted a tsunami warning for the whole East Coast of New Zealand. There are have been numerous subsequent recorded earthquakes across the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
The earthquakes continue, with the highest concentration of reports in the Seddon and Kaikoura areas.
A Tsunami Warning has now been amended to a tsunami warning for eastern seaboard areas south of East Cape.
Tsunami sirens across Coromandel Peninsula were activated around 2am and deactivated 2:32am.
In Whitianga, many residents evacuated when they heard the siren, though some were concerned that they slept through it.
"I felt a quake around 12:15am so was still awake when the siren went off, it wasn't all that loud though," one resident said on social media.
"If I'd been asleep I wouldn't have heard a thing," another resident said.
"Luckily I was awake, woke up the parents, chucked the cats and rabbit in, tooted the car horn a lot to wake the neighbours, banged on one neighbour's door cause they weren't up and then off we went."
Hundreds of Pauanui residents drove up to the subdivision above the roundabout at the entrance to the the beach town at about 1:30pm and stayed there until around 3pm. A resident said many were directed to Duck Creek, just out of Pauanui, by Civil Defence.
Tairua School and Opoutere School are open today. Whangamata Area School is also open today and Year 9 and 10 exams are going ahead. Mercury Bay Area School is also open and operating as usual.
Waikato Civil Defence Group controller Lee Hazlewood residents of the eastern Coromandel responded well last night to instructions to evacuate.
"We initially told people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground if they felt a long and strong quake in their area.
"Later we made the formal decision to evacuate the eastern Coromandel seaboard and sirens were activated. People responded well. We were able to give the all clear at quarter to three and people were able to return to their homes."
There are currently no reports at this stage of major infrastructure problems.
"We will continue to monitor developments closely and respond as required," Hazlewood said.
"We will also assess any requests from our colleagues in the south of the country for help."
Mr Hazlewood urged people to stay alert to the potential for aftershocks and to follow the advice of authorities closely.
"For the moment, while the tsunami threat for our region has been cancelled, there is still potential for unusual currents around the coast. People should stay away from beaches and estuaries and avoid going on the water.
"During this potentially stressful time I ask people to support each other and help authorities as requested."
More info here: www.stuff.co.nz...
***Comments can be used in print unless you state otherwise with NFP (not for print)***