If a megathrust earthquake were to hit in the Pacific Ocean, devastating 12-metre-high tsunami waves could approach the entire length of New Zealand's east coast, a US geophysicist has predicted.
University of California researcher Steven Ward said the possible risk of such a tsunami disaster is due to the the Hikurangi subduction zone - a fault line running from Marlborough past the East Coast.
Following such a megathrust quake, within 10 minutes massive tsunami waves, from five to 12 metres, could strike practically anywhere along New Zealand's east coast, Ward told Fairfax Media.
The danger posed by a huge fault line that runs through NZ is being discussed at a summit.
A computer simulation of the ominous size of such tsunami waves hitting the New Zealand coast has also been created by Ward.
The energy from such a massive earthquake would equate to 3.6 megatons of TNT.
The threat posed by the Hikurangi subduction zone is caused by the movement of the Pacific and Australian Plates, which New Zealand sits on the boundary of.
The plates move around four centimeters each year.
Ward said those areas in line to see the largest tsunami waves would be Christchurch, Wellington and Hawke's Bay.
Scientists are studying the Hikurangi subduction zone in a multi-million dollar research project, aiming to uncover more details about the little-known geological threat.
For what to do in the case of tsunami emergency follow Civil Defence's "get tsunami ready" safety tips.
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