People living in coastal and riverside areas of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula are being urged to check which tsunami evacuation zone they live in.

“We’re going to be testing the tsunami warning sirens this weekend so it’s a good time for people to check the evacuation zones and to work out with their family where they will go, and how they will get there, if there is a tsunami,’’ says Rob Orchard, Head of Civil Defence and Emergency Management at the Christchurch City Council.

Tsunami warning sirens will be tested this Sunday.

See a map of the evacuation zones.

The first is the red evacuation zone that includes the estuary, rivers, beaches and harbours while the second is the orange evacuation zone, which covers the low-lying areas nearest to the coastline.

People in either the red or the orange zones should evacuate if they feel a long or strong earthquake or if advised to evacuate by Civil Defence.

The third evacuation zone is the yellow zone. People in this zone will only need to evacuate if there is a large tsunami coming, for example, from South America. In such cases there will be a minimum of 12 hours warning and Civil Defence will advise of evacuations.

“It is important people get familiar with these zones and talk to their family about a household plan for an evacuation and decide on a meeting place outside the evacuation zone,’’ Mr Orchard says.

“It might be useful to identify local landmarks that are outside of the evacuation zones so you know how far you have to head if there is a long or strong earthquake or an official tsunami warning advising of the need to evacuate,’’ Mr Orchard says.

“All residents in the tsunami evacuations zones should have plans in place for an evacuation.’’

On Sunday the tsunami warning sirens installed along the coastline between Brooklands and Taylors Mistake will be tested as part of a biannual exercise aimed at ensuring they are working properly.

The sirens will sound at 11am for up to three minutes and can usually be heard a few blocks from the coastline.

Mr Orchard says the tsunami sirens are mainly intended to warn people about a tsunami coming from South America.

If there is a tsunami triggered by a very large earthquake off the coast of New Zealand, there may not be enough time to activate the sirens.

“If there is a strong earthquake where you’re finding it difficult to stand up or a long rolling earthquake that lasts a minute or more, you should immediately move out of the red and orange evacuation zones,’’ Mr Orchard says.