Kia ora!
Summer has officially landed! The warm weather and long days are allowing us to throw open the windows and doors and let that fresh air in!
Over the past few months WREMO has been kept busy with multiple exercises including a large one day exercise for all councils with over 500 participants and a large multi-day exercise with all North Island Response Teams - the first of this scale for 20 years!
Our community resilience team has been out and about in the community over the past 3 months delivering workshops to schools, businesses, community groups, and emergency response practises at Community Emergency Hubs.
Activities are winding down for communities to travel and enjoy the holiday season. We will be back with workshops in February 2025 so keep an eye on our events page to see exciting workshops near you.
Read below to see our top tips for keeping tsunami safe this summer and learn how the exercises shaped up!
Let's Get Tsunami Ready
This summer we are encouraging Wellingtonians to get Tsunami ready.
All of the Wellington region’s coastline is at risk of tsunami which means many of us either live, work or play in areas that are in the tsunami zone.
Here are a few of our Top Tsunami Tips:
1. The earthquake is your only warning
After a long or strong earthquake, a tsunami may reach the Wellington region in as little as 10 minutes. There won’t be time for an official warning. The earthquake is your only warning.
If you are in a tsunami zone and you feel an earthquake that is EITHER longer than a minute OR strong enough that it makes it hard to stand up, leave immediately inland, uphill or to the fifth floor or higher after the shaking stops.
If you feel a long or strong earthquake – evacuate immediately after the shaking stops!
If an earthquake is Long or Strong: Get Gone!
2. Plan and practice your tsunami hīkoi (evacuation walk)
If you live or work in a tsunami zone, identify places out of the tsunami zones that you can evacuate to. Tsunami activity can last for up to 24 hours, so think about where you could stay or take shelter if needed.
3. Plan your route: some routes might be faster, while others might be safer because they have fewer dangers (e.g., bridges, bottlenecks, falling debris). Consider these factors when planning your evacuation routes.
4. Know your tsunami zone
Find out if you live, work or play in a tsunami zone and plan how you will evacuate.
Check out the WREMO interactive map to search your location: wremo.nz/tsunami
Exercise Poseidon
Over the weekend of 5-6th October, New Zealand Response Teams (NZRTs) and partner agencies from across the North Island came to Wellington to respond to Exercise Poseidon.
Exercise Poseidon was a 36-hour emergency response and deployment exercise based on a Wellington Earthquake scenario. The scenario may have been a little too realistic, as the Wellington region was woken up to a M5.7 earthquake in the Cook Strait at 5am on the Sunday morning!!
The exercise was the first time in 20 years all the North Island New Zealand Response Teams (NZRTs) had come together to practice and the first time animal welfare teams were invited to attend.
New Zealand Response Teams are trained in a range of skills, including incident management, triage and first aid, flood response, rescue, rope rescue, welfare, river crossings and more. The teams train weekly to maintain these response capabilities.
During Exercise Poseidon, teams were deployed to locations across the Wellington region to test their skills in a realistic earthquake scenario.
One of the main focuses of the exercise was working together. Response Teams deployed in smaller groups, working alongside other teams from across the North Island - many of whom had never met before. Animal welfare teams from SPCA, HUHA, Massey University VERT and Hutt City Animal Services were also deployed to sites alongside the Response Teams. This gave everyone a chance to build relationships and collaborate in real-time, just like they would in a real emergency.
"Responding to a significant earthquake requires everyone to pitch in. New Zealand Response Teams are made up of community members just like you. They have day jobs and volunteer their time to give back to their community. The teams are a critical resource deployed by the local council to support communities in a disaster."
If you are interested in joining a New Zealand Response Team, reach out to one of the four here in the Wellington region; Wellington City, Victoria University, Hutt City and Upper Hutt."
Exercise Rū Whenua a Rohe
In November, Over 500 staff from partner agencies and the Wellington region’s nine councils participated in Exercise Rū Whenua a Rohe – a scenario designed to simulate the response to a Magnitude 8.2 earthquake on the Alpine Fault.
In an Alpine Fault earthquake, the Wellington region could face major damage to buildings, roads, and essential services, with impacts greater than those experienced from the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
Research indicates there is a 75% probability of an Alpine Fault earthquake occurring in the next 50 years, with an 82% chance of it being a magnitude 8 or higher.
Wellington Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Controller Charlie Blanch says exercises provide an opportunity to test response plans and work together as a group.
“Many people may not know that local council staff lead and coordinate the emergency response during a major earthquake.”
Staff from the nine local councils in the region activated their Emergency Operations Centres on the day to practice coordinating together.
Various partner agencies with emergency response roles helped support the exercise, including GNS Science, MetService, NZ Police, Fire and Emergency NZ, Wellington Free Ambulance, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, Te Whatu Ora, Ministry of Social Development, NZ Red Cross, Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry for Primary Industries, Corrections, and the National Emergency Management Agency.
Volunteers from NZ Response teams carried out simulated impact assessments in their communities while other volunteers supported displaced people across the region.
In Porirua, members of the Waitangirua community also took part by opening their local Community Emergency Hub. Porirua community member Eirenei Vailaau-Ah Kuoi says during the exercise, they practiced setting up the hub, solving problems locally, and supporting each other.
“We know an earthquake is inevitable, it’s not if but when. We wanted our community to practise opening our Community Emergency Hub so we know how to operate & best serve our community.”
To find out how to prepare and keep safe in an earthquake visit wremo.nz/earthquakes
Events and Workshops
WREMO will be back with events, workshops and more in the new year.
Keep close eye on our websites events page to stay in the loop and see the exciting plans for next year.
wremo.nz/calendar
Don’t see your area in our upcoming events, no problem!
You can come along to any of our Emergency Response Practices or better yet, let us know if your community is keen to have a go at your local Community Emergency Hub.
It’s free, it’s fun and best of all anyone can do it!
Contact us on info@wremo.nz and let us know if your community is keen for go!
