Demolition of the damaged Holiday Inn Hotel in Christchurch. Some of New Zealand's big businesses have joined forces to help make the country more resilient to natural disasters.
A handful of New Zealand businesses have joined forces to change how the country prepares for and responds to natural disasters.
Beca, BNZ, IAG, New Zealand Red Cross and Vodafone have formed 'Resilient New Zealand', a group which aims to identify and advocate ways to make New Zealand more resilient
to disasters.
Bryce Davies of IAG corporate affairs, said there was "a real need" for preparation due to the impact natural disasters have on communities and the economy.
"[The initiative] stems from the fact that natural hazards are recognised as a strategic risk for New Zealand. When natural disasters do occur they are going to have a massive impact on communities from a social point of view and certainly from an economical point of view," Davies said.
"The better that we can minimise the impact [natural disasters] have, the faster we can recover from them and that is good all round. It is going to have benefits from an economic point of view and it is going to have benefits from a social point of view."
