A tsunami watch was issued for the whole country this morning, but then changed to the west coast from North Cape to Hokitika, and from the North Cape to Auckland on the east coast.
A tsunami warning had been put in place and most residents had headed to high ground.
"The events in Samoa have taken the complacency out of people here," Mr Coleman said.
Port Vila shut down as workers fled and hotels cleared tourists off the beaches.
"Shops and offices in the city have been closed and workers have run to higher ground in case of a tsunami," said Arjun Channa, general manager of the luxury Le Meridien resort in Port Vila.
"At the hotel, all guests have been cleared off the beaches and we are contacting all cruises to stop those and get the passengers to safer areas, just in case," he told AFP.
"We have evacuated everyone to higher ground - well above sealevel - and are preventing anyone from going into town," he said, before the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled the warning.
- NZPA
Well Guys based on the evidence so far this is going to be "One hell of a trip" I will now be packing snorkel and flippers as part of my standard motorcycling kit !
