Tai Rāwhiti tops participation in national earthquake and tsunami drill

Tai Rāwhiti chalked up the highest participation rate in the country for the third year running during this year’s annual earthquake and tsunami drill.

More than 680,000 participants from across Aotearoa signed up for the 19 October drill, known as ShakeOut, where people practice their evacuation plans.

In Tai Rāwhiti, 24 percent of the population signed up, with more than 12,000 individuals, 70 businesses and 63 schools taking part, putting it just ahead of West Coast, where 22 percent of the population signed up.

Tai Rāwhiti emergency manager Ben Green said with a 26 percent chance of a significant event in the Hikurangi Fault in the next 50 years, it was good to see people preparing.

In both Southland and Wellington, 17 percent of the population signed up, with Auckland and Canterbury registering sign-ups of 9 percent and 8 percent respectively.

The strong earthquake which hit Canterbury in September was a serious reminder that New Zealanders needed to be prepared for a large earthquake National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s director emergency management, John Price, said in a statement ahead of this year’s ShakeOut.

“To stay safe when the earth moves, you need to drop cover and hold. Drop down on your hands and knees. Cover your head and neck. Hold onto your shelter.”

He said the shake was a reminder for people have a “prep talk” with their households, and for workplaces, schools and marae to make sure they were earthquake-ready.

People could find simple, practical tips to get their home, school or workplace prepared at getready.govt.nz, he said.