Tsunami alert lesson for all

Posted by on 24 May 2006 | 0 Comments

MANAWATU District residents should take stock of what happened during the tsunami alert on the East Coast and ensure they are prepared for any similar crisis, says Emergency Management Officer, Trevor Auld.

He said no area in New Zealand was tsunami-free and it was important that people learn from this month’s incident, even though it turned out to be a false alarm.

“If a tsunami warning goes up, people must leave their homes immediately and head 3 kilometres inland,” he said, “and they must be in a position to do so quickly and safely.”

Mr Auld said any tsunami generated off Himatangi Beach or Tangimoana would be proportionately small because the slope of the Continental Shelf would reduce any major impact.

“If something did happen, however, we don’t want people in those beach communities trying to get out but being barricaded in by thousands of others rushing to the area to see a tsunami.”

He said the tsunami alert showed how ill prepared many New Zealanders were when confronted by an emergency, with many fleeing East Coast families regretting their decision not to have packed “getaway kits”.

“People have to be aware that they need to be responsible for themselves and their families as there is no vast army of Civil Defence volunteers out there who will suddenly materialise.”

Mr Auld reiterated the need to have a survival kit ready and available if a quick evacuation was required. The kit should contain food, water, medicines, first aid material, torch, radio and batteries, alternative lighting, valuable documents like insurance policies and a change of clothes. 

“New Zealand history shows that these emergencies can happen repeatedly and with great rapidity and the Manawatu, as the events of 2004 showed, is not immune.”

Community preparedness was vital, said Mr Auld, and people had to be more pro-active in ensuring that they were ready to respond to, and recover from, an emergency.

About 2000 “Are You Prepared” emergency planning guides have recently been distributed to garages, stores and supermarkets in Feilding as well as to public outlets in communities such as Himatangi Beach and Tangimoana.

Further recommendations on how families could prepare for a natural disaster are also on the Manawatu District Council’s website.  

Source: Manawatu District Council.

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