Papamoa East residents struggling to get an alternative access way or exit from their suburb think they may get help from GNS Science's update on tsunami hazards.

Paul Melhuish at the end of Golden Sands Drive.

The report released this week finds the Papamoa coast could be exposed to tsunami of a height of eight-10 metres instead of the five metre wave Bay of Plenty Regional Council planners have been basing decisions on until now.

The report also states waves of the increased size are likely to be of close origin in the Kermadec Trench; and says tsunami sirens will not be able to warn people soon enough to save themselves by leaving the beach.

Papamoa East resident Paul Melhuish is petitioning the city council to bring forward the extension of Te Okuroa Drive to join with Golden Sands Drive and says the report only adds weight to his argument. And with an escape route – the wider the better.

'A formed road is going to be pretty crucial because it's flat, smooth and not full of obstacles.” The report shows this is needed sooner rather than later, he says.

'We do try to look at it from a broader sense, not just focussing on one admittedly unlikely event, but wider looking at people's safety in any event. It's about getting people in as well. If the road is gone we will have to fly them in.”

Key points from the report are the probability of a tsunami has not changed, but instead a maximum possible size of a tsunami in the Bay of Plenty has increased; and a large tsunami generated very close to New Zealand will arrive before an official warning can be issued.

People must know if they are at the coast and feel a strong earthquake (it is hard to stand up), or a weak earthquake that lasts for a minute or more, then get to high ground or go inland – do not wait for an official warning, says report compiler William Power, of GNS Science.

William says historical evidence shows a dangerous local or regional tsunami occurs in New Zealand every 40 to 50 years on average.