A trio of lead authors from NIWA has been named alongside the Ministry for the Environment and others as joint winner of the 2018 Terry Healy Coastal Project Award.
Inhabitants of the Marshall Islands may not be able to avoid drought, but thanks to a new tool co-developed by NIWA they can now plan ahead to better manage water resources when the big dry looms.
A senior NIWA scientist is concerned many councils are having difficulty “getting off the starting blocks” when it comes to planning for coastal climate change.
A pilot project has provided the most advanced mapping of a New Zealand lake ever and highlights the hazard to lakeside towns of tsunamis caused by landslides.
Autumn and winter rain caused damaging floods and slips across New Zealand, yet again. Susan Pepperell investigates the nation's evolving skill in avoiding and coping with water.
Imagine if you could foresee what would happen to your home in a severe flood or tsunami, and then work out how to prevent or reduce the impact before any such event occurred.
The latest version (V3) of NIWA’s High Intensity Rainfall Design System (HIRDS) is a web-based system that lets engineers find out how much rain they should design for at any location in New Zealand. It will tell them the probability of a really big downpour, and how big that downpour might be.
Floods are not unusual in New Zealand, but those that hit us early this winter broke records. Why did they occur? Should we expect more? Can we predict future floods?
Earthquakes, floods, landslides, and low rainfall, were some of our major hazard events in 2009. For the insurance industry, it was one of the least costly years for natural disasters with claims only totalling $6.75 million, compared with $86.27 million the year before.
New Zealand’s coast is sculpted by ocean waves. Some wave conditions bring joy to surfers and beachgoers, but, at other times, waves can cause major hazards at sea or along the shore.
Scientists will be knocking on doors in Edgecumbe next week seeking to survey the damage done to buildings from recent flooding caused when a stopbank on the Rangitaiki River breached.
Another powerful weather system is set to hit New Zealand tonight and tomorrow morning, bringing another round of strong, gusty wind and drenching downpours.
NIWA researchers have spent part of the last month keeping a close eye on the bottom of Lake Tekapo to find out what it looks like and what is going on below the lake bed.
