At 5pm on Wednesday, the death toll stood at five, with three others seriously injured and around 300 inmates from a women’s prison on the run after a breakout.

Coincidentally, Eden man Peter Boddis recently sent in a letter to the editor, ‘Alaskan tsunami?’, which appears in this week’s Magnet.

Mr Boddis recalls how he was caught by a small residue of tidal wave whilst diving 30 miles south of Eden in 1964.

He believes the wave carried the after-effect of a 9.2 magnitude quake that also hit Chile, after originating in Alaska and killing 11 people in California as coastlines were flooded.

“I thought this might be where the tsunami had come from, all those thousands of miles across the world,” he said.

“It still had quite some effect when it reached our shores.

“I was diving near Green Cape and it came through and ripped the anchor right out.”

There are currently no tsunami warnings for Australia, but Mr Boddis said he recommends keeping an eye on http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/ to ensure you are across all the latest.

“I live in a low-lying area, and I’m not too worried about it myself, but they can be a great danger,” he said.

“I’ve always been interested in these sorts of things since that experience, and my brother lived in New Zealand, which is quite volcanically active and brings the risk of tsunamis.

“I always look at that tsunami warning site and I see a clear and present danger, I take action to protect my life and the lives of those around me.”