A Civil Defence alert has sounded off on phones in the Bay of Plenty.

The first wave impact is expected to hit the region imminently, reads the alert.

The warning follows a number of large earthquakes off the coast of New Zealand.

An 8.1M quake in the Kermadec Islands triggered a tsunami warning and the evacuation of the coastal area of Whakatane, including Matata.

Coastal areas west of Matata are being warned to expect strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges near the shore.

A Tauranga resident says shops in Bayfair are closed this morning following the alert.

Shops in Bayfair are closed. Photo: Supplied.

'Bayfair Shopping Centre is open and trading at this stage, however if customers are planning on visiting a specific store we recommend you call ahead to check if they are open as some stores have chosen to close," reads a statement from Bayfair Shopping Centre.

'The centre is following official advice from the Civil Defence and currently has not been asked to evacuate as it is not in the evacuation zone.

'We would like to assure everyone that the safety of customers, retailers, staff and visitors is our number one priority.

'Please refer to the Civil Defence website for updates and any changes in alert levels.”

People east of Matata are being told not to wait and to leave the area immediately, if they haven't already.

Sam Scown, broadcast journalist at 1XX radio station, which covers the Eastern Bay of Plenty, says: 'We managed to get out of Whakatane at around 9am, but it took us much longer than usual. At that point the foot traffic was seriously building up towards Hillcrest.

'The traffic got so bad that people were actually parking up, leaving their vehicles on the roadside and walking up on foot. There were hundreds and hundreds of people, and police and council officials were on the scene trying to manage the crowds as well as the traffic.

'As we drove out of town we went through Taneatua, and noticed people were crowding onto driveways as they tried to find higher ground and stay safe.”

'It was pretty chaotic, and we're just relieved to be a bit further inland.”