‘We revelled in it, whooping and hollering as we followed the ebb’. Rossi King-Turner describes her memory of the 1960 tsunami.
The tsunami in May 1960, caused by a Chile earthquake, is the one most often recalled by New Zealanders. Despite the potential of tsunamis to create tragic destruction, the 1960 event was not a major disaster in New Zealand. No lives were lost or even threatened. So when we invited stories about natural disasters, the 1960 tsunami accounts tended to be more amusing than terrifying.
What's your story?
A crab’s eye view
Rossi King-Turner was living in a beach-front home in Pelorus Sound in May 1960, when something unusual happened.
Bird show
Lionel Hussey and his naval colleagues were amused by the sight of gannets diving into mud – it was probably not quite so funny for the birds.
