Quake wake-up call for Nelson

BY SALLY KIDSON

A big quake is still the biggest risk to the Nelson region. So make a plan. And get your survival kit ready.

That's the advice from the Nelson Tasman Emergency Management office following Canterbury's devastating earthquake.

Manager Roger Ball said a big earthquake was "still the biggest worry".

"We know floods are the most common hazard, but the big earthquake comes on top of the risk profile."

Mr Ball drove to Christchurch on Saturday, negotiating huge cracks in the road, to help and witness the management of the emergency to see if there was anything he could learn from it.

"These are rare events. I want to take whatever lessons I can from it."

He said the event was a sobering wake up to Nelsonians to make sure they could look after themselves for at least three days without power and water following a big disaster.

"I think that one of the biggest lessons from here is that people are still without power and without water and sewage systems."

People also needed to make a plan of how they would get in touch with family members or friends if a disaster struck during the day when they were separated and they were not able to contact each other.

"What's your fall-back plan for your family members if you are separated and you can't ring them? Where are you going to meet if you can't get home, what's plan B? It might be to go to Grandma's or someone's?"

He said households needed candles and torches to light their house if power was out. People needed water, some food – and a method to cook it – to get them through three days.

Mr Ball said as part of his visit to Christchurch he initially spent time in the Emergency Co-ordination Centre for the Canterbury region and went to the Christchurch City Council's operation where teams were accessing the impact on the infrastructure.

On Saturday night, he also visited welfare centres for people who could not live in their homes.

Mr Ball said the welfare centres were a sobering experience, but also positive as others were offering to help put up those unable to return home.

He was confident the Nelson Tasman emergency management team had the skills and plans to cope with a major disaster.

"We had an audit in the first six months of this year and we came out amongst the top [nationally].

"However, they've given us some things to work on and seeing the results of the community of this earthquake I know we do have some things to improve on, there's no question about it."

He said while the earthquake was a wake-up call to the community it was important they did not forget about being prepared for a disaster once the impact of the disaster wore off.

Mr Ball was this morning at the Christchurch City Council operations centre working with the emergency operations centre manager.

Members of the Nelson and Blenheim Red Cross have also gone to Christchurch to help.

- © Fairfax NZ News