'Quake' to test emergency planning

GET READY: Kim Whiteman with some of the information available on how to cope with emergencies. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Advice on how to prepare for a wide range of emergencies will be available next week as Civil Defence in Wairarapa launches Get Ready Week.

The week will concentrate on personal and business preparedness but will also offer people the opportunity to become Civil Defence volunteers.

In the lead-up to the week, emergency management adviser Kim Whiteman has been working in the community - at schools, early childhood centres and rest homes.

She said the Christchurch earthquakes had served to bring home to New Zealanders that emergencies could happen anytime, anywhere and in many different ways.

Apart from earthquakes, Wairarapa could be affected by storms, landslides, fires, drought, hazardous substance incidents, infrastructure failures such as power cuts and even pandemics.

Big earthquakes could trigger troublesome tsunami for some of Wairarapa's low-lying areas.

Preparing for an emergency involved considering many needs. Mrs Whiteman said it had even been identified there was a need to have some cash because an emergency could knock out Eftpos machines leaving families with no means of purchasing food or other goods.

To improve Get Ready Week awareness, Civil Defence has prepared packs which can be obtained from public libraries and district council offices.

Greytown is going all out to make sure its citizens are aware of what is needed to cope with disaster. On Wednesday a simulated earthquake disaster will test the town's readiness for the real thing.

At 9.47am "a big earthquake" close to the town will trigger the simulation and Greytown Civil Defence Centre, located in the town's heart, will swing into action.

Volunteers from Kuranui College, Greytown Lions Club and others will take part, acting out likely emergency scenarios and testing the ability of Civil Defence personnel to cope with the situation.

From 10am until 4pm people wanting to join the organisation as Civil Defence volunteers will be able to make themselves known.

Mrs Whiteman said each person would be interviewed. Police checks would be conducted before volunteers were accepted.

Get Ready Week 2014 is promoted by the Ministry of Civil Defence and is supported by the Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office.