Head for the hills

To mark the anniversary of the Kaikoura earthquake Porirua City Council staff will join others around the region and walk off the job to practice a tsunami evacuation.

The #TsunamiWalkOut campaign is an initiative by the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) aimed at helping people know what to do after a long strong earthquake.

WREMO are encouraging all businesses, schools and childcare centres in evacuation zones to do an evacuation drill to a place outside the tsunami zones on 14 November.

The suggested time is 12.02pm, twelve hours after the Kaikoura earthquake which struck at 12.02am.

Porirua City Council staff who are able to take part are being encouraged to drop, cover and hold at 12.02pm then walk out and get to high ground, says Scott Martin, the Council’s Principal Health and Safety Advisor.

“We’re hoping it will be a fun exercise to reinforce a serious message. We’re in a tsunami zone here in the Porirua city centre, so if we have a long or strong earthquake we need to head to high ground as soon as it’s safe to do so,” he said.

“We’re really fortunate that no one in Wellington was killed or seriously injured in the Kaikoura earthquake, but many people are still dealing with the aftermath.

“If it had happened during the day the outcome may have been very different, so this is a great chance for everyone to practise what they’d do after a really big quake.”

WREMO is also suggesting families practice their evacuation routes on the evening of 14 November, and everyone should at least get to know their tsunami zones.

The Porirua City Council website has interactive maps where you can type in your address and find your safe zone.

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