Twenty-four percent of Tairāwhiti signed up for ShakeOut 2023 – the highest participation rate in the country for the third year running.

ShakeOut is New Zealand’s annual earthquake and tsunami drill where people practice their evacuation plans.

Gisborne, Tairāwhiti, topped the scoreboard with;

• 12,415 individuals
• 70 businesses
• 63 schools
• and 269 households signed up.

The second region was the West Coast at 22 per cent, followed by Southland in third place with 17 per cent.

Tairāwhiti Emergency Management Manager Ben Green says it’s comforting to see so many people have heeded the message that we need to practice our evacuation as a region.

“We have a 26 per cent chance of a significant event in the Hikurangi Fault occurring within the next 50 years.

“People are at the heart of everything we do. We want our region as prepared as possible so we thank you all for taking part.”

The Hikurangi Subduction Zone remains the region’s biggest threat with the potential to deliver a devastating megathrust earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

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