November Newsletter

Community Resilience & Recovery Team Update

Kia ora!

With the silly season just around the corner, the team at WREMO are winding down our activities in the community for the year.

Like our fellow Wellingtonians, we are optimistically peering through the windows and starting to dust off the summer gear ready for what promises to be a hot summer!

El Niño is here this summer and like the rest of the country, the Wellington region will need to prepare that we may face tighter water restrictions.

In this quarters issue, we will talk about successes, being water ready and how you can get involved in the Long Walk Home 2024!

A Long Walk Home...

At 1pm, Friday 1st March 2024 will you be participating in the Long Walk Home?

After a large earthquake, we might find ourselves stranded around the region. Roads and rail links are likely to be damaged for a week or more.

So how are you going to get home? Well, the old-fashioned way….walk!

Try to imagine… You are at the office in Wellington City. It has been a long, stressful day and all you want to do is get home.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake! You Drop, Cover and Hold.

Luckily, it was not a long or strong earthquake, so there’s no tsunami threat.

But the earthquake is big enough to leave you and your colleagues shaken (no pun intended!). You assess your building is safe and with no more shaking and no obvious signs of damage, you head for the train to go home.

Arriving at the train station you see a throng of people all standing around as the message blares, "The tracks need to be checked, all trains cancelled".

Oh, how frustrating! I guess you will take the bus….Nope! 80,000 other commuters have the same idea. What are you going to do? It's a long walk home!

This is not a scenario we just came up with. This actually happened in 2013 when a magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurred near Seddon at 2.30pm on a Friday.

After the Seddon earthquake, a number of Wellington commuters found themselves stuck, unable to get home via their normal mode of transport.

Many found themselves having to stay with friends in the city or walk home, using the grab bags they had long since forgotten about, and dusting off walking shoes stashed in lockers and under desks.

The Long Walk Home is an event that allows you to practise and experience the challenge of getting home after a large earthquake.

So why take part?

Well, taking part as a business or organisation supports staff health and wellbeing, as well as helps to build confidence and prompt discussions about how to be more prepared.

It is also an opportunity to strengthen relationships with colleagues and other commuters and contributes to your organisation’s overall business continuity. Well-prepared staff who can get home safely are in a much stronger position to return to work once they have checked on their families.

Are you ready to take on the challenge of the Long Walk Home?

Register here: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2024/long-walk-home/porirua-mana

Are you water ready?

Water is one of our most important and precious resources here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We're lucky to be able to turn on our taps whenever we want to get a nice, cool glass of water.

But what if we couldn't?

A large earthquake, drought or flood can disrupt our water supply.

These disruptions means that it’s important for everyone to have a household emergency water supply to last at least 7 days.

This summer, with El Niño on the horizon, our water supply might also start to be pushed as there may be less supply to meet demand.

For areas like Wellington City, the Hutt Valley and Porirua - Wellington Water are asking people to be prepared for tighter water restrictions over the summer period. This is due to a combination of ageing infrastructure, water loss and the El Niño climate cycle.

What can you do to be water ready

Store emergency water
We recommend 140 Litres per person in your household to last at least 7 days.
You may need more if you small children or sick family members and don’t forget your pets!
There are different ways you can store emergency water at home:Purchase a 200-litre water tank, subsided through all local councils in our region for approximately $115.
Clean and re-use plastic bottles.
Use bigger containers that are available from hardware stores.
If you live in an apartment or are low on space – we encourage people to get creative and store containers wherever they can such as under the bed, behind the couch or in the back of the cupboard.

🌟 Be in to win a 200-litre water tank! 🌟
Every week until Christmas, you have a chance to win a 200-litre water tank!
Visit the WREMO Facebook or Instagram every Wednesday to enter the weekly competition.
Be prepared for tighter water restrictions this summer
Learn how to reduce your water use at home by visiting the Ministry of Health Website and the Wellington Water Website.

For ideas and information on storing emergency water visit wremo.nz/water

Successes!!

SCREMO!
- by Katie Sharp

On Sunday 29 of October, Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association and WREMO ran the ‘SCREAMO’ event at Ōwhiro Bay School.

The event was both a community Halloween party, and an Emergency Response Practice all tied into one. Despite the All Blacks losing the world cup final, there were around 90 people join us for the event, which was spectacular!

The sun was shining, there was a free sausage sizzle and plenty of dedicated community members there to make the day as awesome as it was 😊

A huge thank you to the Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association (OBRA) for making the event as successful as it was, and to Ōwhiro Bay School for hosting us.

Upcoming Events

Lower Hutt: Business Continuity Planning Workshop - December 1st 2023

Waikanae: Emergency Response Practise - December 3rd 2023

Wellington: Long Walk Home - March 1st 2024

Kāpiti: Schools Emergency Planning Workshop - March 21st 2024

Kāpiti: Early Childhood Education Planning Workshop - April 9th 2024

For full details see the events page on our website.
https://www.wremo.nz/news-and-events/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!!