Tsunami evacuation signs are set to be installed in downtown Mount Maunganui next week – the first of a series that will eventually be installed along the city's coastlines.

The signs, being installed in the area between Banks Avenue west to Mauao, have been developed in conjunction with the Bay of Plenty Regional Civil Defence Emergency Management Group office and New Zealand Police.

Tsunami walkway evacuation routes throughout Mount Maunganui.

Information on the new evacuation signs will point to Mauao as the nearest safe zone for everyone who is within walking distance of the mountain.

Council Emergency Management and Safety manager Paul Bauntonsays that the biggest tsunami threat to Tauranga City is one which would arrive 50 minutes after a major earthquake.

'We need the community to learn that a major earthquake is the first and most reliable natural warning sign for a tsunami in this region. If there is a serious earthquake it should prompt people to evacuate to higher ground or inland as soon as possible.”

Paul says the best way to evacuate is by foot because roads will congest quickly and may become impassable.

'This was a key learning from the 2011 Japan tsunami, that walking saved lives while driving did not.”

For the downtown Mount area the safest and best option for residents is to walk up Mauao.

Council is also working with urgency on evacuation route planning for the rest of the city.

Paul says there will eventually be evacuation routes clearly sign posted right along the city coastlines from Mauao to Papamoa and throughout the inner Tauranga Harbour.

To achieve this council is gathering more accurate information identifying where reliable safe zones can be formalised.

'The new information we are getting will help us plan safe zones with certainty. From there we will plan for how the community can reach the safe zones and what new infrastructure will be needed to help them get there.”

The remainder of the evacuation route planning is expected to be finished within six months to a year with more time needed for evacuation signs and infrastructure to be rolled out across the city.

Elected members today signalled $375,000 will be allocated next year towards creating evacuation routes where needed. This funding will be put to the community for feedback through the draft Annual Plan consultation process.

More information about the evacuation route planning can be found at www.tauranga.govt.nz.