Monitoring equipment on Raoul Island knocked out by Friday's 8.1 magnitude quake is likely to be back up and running by the end of this week.
Raoul Island. Photo: Supplied / DOC
A resupply mission to the Kermadec islands due to take place last week has finally set sail a week and two big earthquakes later.
Staff from MetService and GNS Science are onboard the Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Canterbury.
They were delayed last week after Auckland went into the Covid-19 alert level 3
The quake struck the Kermadec Islands about 1000km north of New Zealand just before 8.30am, sparking a tsunami warning.
It was the second quake in the region on Friday, the first was a 7.4 magnitude.
GNS earth structure and processes manager Sally Dellow said they had no idea how much damage had been done to seismographs, a volcano camera, crater lake temperature sensors and two tsunami gauges.
"We are not entirely sure, there was lots of earthquake shaking and we lost communication with Raoul so at the very least we know that our communication equipment does not have a power supply.
"Beyond that, we are blind at the moment until we get a team on Raoul.
"This was a big earthquake and we are not sure what has gone wrong," she said.
"[At] this stage the plan is to spend three days on Raoul and then they will return to Auckland."
An RNZAF P-3K2 Orion flew over Raoul Island on Saturday, which allowed crew to check for signs of damage following the earthquakes.
She said while earthquakes could still be detected, the instruments provided much more detailed information.
"Its depth, magnitude and location to determine a lot more accurately when we have the instruments on Raoul working.
"That means any subsequent tsunami forecast can be a lot more accurate."
"Friday's earthquakes and tsunami warnings were a reminder of how important these early warning systems are," said Maritime Component Commander Commodore Mat Williams.
"We will continue to monitor the situation in the Kermadec Islands, including consulting with our colleagues in GNS Science."
It's the first major resupply mission to the Kermadecs since Department of Conservation staff left in March 2020.