Disaster Recovery Needs A Plan

MEDIA RELEASE

29 MARCH 2011

Disaster Recovery Needs A Plan

One positive outcome from the devastating earthquakes that hit Christchurch on 4 September and 22 February is that many more of us now have enhanced awareness of the need to have our own disaster recovery plan in the event of a civil emergency. That goes for businesses too. Take Christchurch-based Ryman Healthcare, which operates 23 retirement villages nationwide and is also a construction company.

Ryman Healthcare had used the services of HireQuip for a number of years, both during the construction phase of a new village, and from time to time for the hire of equipment for a specific short-term need. As a preferred supplier, HireQuip ensured that Ryman properties were near the front of the queue for equipment that could instantly become essential if utility services failed. We’re talking power, water, wastewater disposal.

When disaster struck on that unforgettable February afternoon, the residents of Beckenham Courts Retirement Village in Colombo Street experienced what tens of thousands of others in their city were suddenly forced to come to terms with: no running water, no electricity, and limited sewerage. HireQuip swung into action with generator support and portable toilets, enabling the residents of Beckenham Courts to remain in their homes at the village. Fortunately, despite some surface and superficial damage, the buildings were deemed to be structurally sound.

The portable toilets were the “stand-by” solution, used until HireQuip installed a 10,000 litre tank, which needed to be monitored constantly and cleaned almost daily.

“HireQuip, and in fact all our suppliers, responded extremely well to our situation,” says Ryman Healthcare’s Property Manager and Purchasing Manager Philip Mealings. “They kept us operational, which helped us to be able to provide some reassurance to our residents during a time when there was so much uncertainty in our city.”

Part of the reason HireQuip were able to respond as they did to the Christchurch emergency is that they have 37 branches throughout the country, so equipment can rapidly be repositioned where it’s needed. HireQuip worked closely with USAR and Civil Defence teams at key sites in the CBD like Latimer Square and Christchurch Cathedral, as well as in Hagley Park where their giant 55 x 40m marquee provided shelter for people whose homes had become uninhabitable when the 6.3 quake struck.

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