WELLINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Minister of Civil Defense Kris Faafoi will open a new purpose-built tsunami high ground evacuation area on Saturday in Papamoa of the North Island and observe the community's evacuation "rehearsal."
The artificial high ground in Gordon Spratt Reserve is accessed via two new earthquake-strengthened footbridges, and can be rapidly reached by students from Papamoa Primary School, Faafoi said in a statement on Friday.
"This will allow people to gather safely above the highest predicted level of tsunami inundation," Faafoi said, adding that timely evacuation for school children and others with low mobility is vital in an emergency.
The mound has a capacity for approximately 3,800 people and is built to withstand the shaking and liquefaction effects of an earthquake.
Papamoa is the largest suburb of Tauranga where there is a network of tsunami evacuation routes and safe locations, along with clearly marked evacuation maps and signs, Faafoi said.
The ground is "the first purpose built high ground reserve in the Southern Hemisphere," and is the first of four planned tsunami evacuation areas in Tauranga, the minister added.
