Auckland City Council
Media release

 9 August 2010
 

Get your five to survive a disaster

Could your family get through a disaster with what’s in your shopping trolley? That’s the question Auckland City Council wants people to think about when they do their weekly shop.

Auckland City Council and the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, together with Progressive supermarkets, today launches an in-store campaign to encourage Auckland city residents to take action to ensure they have the essential items to survive a disaster.

As a start, they recommend:

water (think of three litres per person per day for at least three days)
first aid items
non-perishable food
a waterproof torch
an emergency toilet (toilet paper, large rubbish bags and a bucket).
For the next six weeks, advertising in Countdown, Woolworths and Foodtown supermarkets will direct shoppers to these “5 Survive” items.

New Zealand faces many potential disasters because of its location and environment but research shows that only 15 per cent of households have even the basic preparation needed to get through a disaster.

Auckland City Council Emergency Manager, Jane Lodge says the purpose of this is to encourage people to take action and be prepared.

“The aim of the campaign is to show Auckland residents how easy and sensible it is to get prepared - the basic items can be picked up with the weekly shop.  Once shoppers have engaged in the idea of preparedness, we hope that they will then be motivated to add more items weekly,” she says.  “It’s an easy way to spread the cost.”

Visit www.getthru.govt.nz to learn more about preparing for an emergency.
      

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