The tsunami threat last week is a good reminder to all of us to have a plan in place.
“It’s up to each individual to act now and have a plan to look after themselves if a tsunami, or any other emergency, strikes,” says Civil Defence and Emergency Management Director, John Dragicevich.
“This includes knowing what to do, where to go and where to meet up with family and friends.”
What to do now
- know your tsunami evacuation zone and evacuation point (see below)
- plan where to meet your family and friends
- sign up to get alerts
- go to aucklandcivildefence.org.nz and put your tsunami plan in place
“People need to know how their local area could be affected, where to get accurate and up to date emergency information because normal communications channels might not be working and also include in their planning their neighbours and people who might need help if there is an emergency,” Mr Dragicevich says.
Tsunami evacuation zones
With 3110km of coastline around Auckland, any coastal parts of the region could be affected by a tsunami.
Check Auckland Civil Defence’s tsunami evacuation maps for your area to find out if you live or work in an evacuation zone and to find your evacuation point.
There are three evacuation zones:
- Red covers the beach and adjacent low-lying areas most likely to be hit by a tsunami
- Orange would be evacuated if there was a medium to large tsunami threat
- Yellow covers the largest area that would need to be evacuated in the event of a maximum-impact tsunami
If you are in an evacuation zone, think about how you will get to higher ground by foot, leaving the roads clear for those who are unable to walk and have to drive.