New Zealand’s earthquake technology is saving lives overseas, but it is not often used here due to perceived high cost. Investigating the ‘true’ cost of base isolation is just one of the projects featured in a new report by the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC).

The Research and Resilience Highlights Report summarises NHC's over $10 million investment in research, advocacy, and public education work to make New Zealand more resilient to natural hazards.

Chief Research and Resilience Officer, Dr Jo Horrocks, says the annual report is “a fantastic way to catch-up on the incredible depth and breadth of the work we do to reduce the impact of natural hazards in New Zealand.”

Along with research into base isolation, the work highlighted includes:

• Launch of Design.Resilience.NZ, an online resource for people wanting to build above ‘code minimum’ buildings.
• Restless lands in a van: our popular exhibition at Te Papa is now available in touring form for communities around New Zealand.
• Building a catalogue of NZ’s slope hazard hotspots through repeated wetting of soil samples from across the country.
• A new teacher’s portal offering a range of educational resources about natural hazards, for kids in primary through to secondary school.

“Every year we invest in research that answers important questions about New Zealand’s natural hazard risks, and how best to reduce or manage them. We also aim to support the next generation of scientists through scholarships, conference support, and other education programmes,” says Jo.

“We use our funded science and modelling to inform our other activities, like supporting and advocating for natural hazards resilience, as well as in public communications, education, and outreach. In 2024, we invested nearly $2 million across partnerships with museums, local education programmes, schools, and organisations like Plunket, as well as campaigns to ensure preparedness messaging reaches as many people as possible.

“This work is paying off, with research showing that more New Zealanders than ever say they have taken actions that will help prevent damage to their home, land, or possessions from natural hazards.

“Advocating for smart decision-making is another important part of what we do. We partner with professional bodies, like NZ Planning Institute and Structural Engineering Society NZ, to ensure natural hazards resilience is considered in best practice guidance.

“We are champions of responsible land development. Last year we made nine formal submissions on local and central government policies and plans that may put people and property in harm’s way.

“What many people might not realise is that New Zealand is globally unique in our approach to insuring for natural hazards. We were the first in the world to develop a natural hazards insurance risk pool scheme, which means risk is spread and insurance is more affordable, leading to extremely high levels of coverage.

“But we can’t insure our way out of every disaster. Our scheme is remarkable in that we invest heavily in preventing and preparing for natural hazards, which is the work highlighted in this report,” Jo says.

The full report is available on NHC’s website.

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