A 16-metre wooden bridge near Pouawa was flung almost a kilometre inland. Two men were thrown off their feet and deposited on a nearby road. Two women and another man were trapped in a cottage as the water hurtled inland. The currents rose to head height. Their home disintegrated as the water receded. Only the kitchen was left. The size of a tsunami is measured by the maximum height it reaches above sea level, or what scientists call its run-up. Not only was this a colossal tsunami, it was a strange one. SUPPLIED A locally generated tsunami near Gisborne on March 26, 1947, caused widespread damage along the coast. This was all that remained of a four-roomed house at Turihaua Point that filled head-high with water. Seaweed was left hanging on the power lines in the background. (Published with the permission of Tairawhiti Museum.)