Northlanders urged to ‘Get Ready, Get Thru’

Northlanders may have had more than their share of storms lately, but they are still being encouraged to give a thought to how they would handle natural disasters and other hazards as part of the upcoming national ‘Get Ready Week’.

Power pole damaged in July 2014 Northland storms.  Storms are just one of the potential hazards national 'Get Ready Week' aims to raise awareness of.

The annual event is organised by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and local Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups (including Northland's) to raise awareness of potential hazards and the need to be prepared.

Councillor Paul Dimery, who represents the Northland Regional Council on the Northland CDEM Group Committee, says the theme for this year's Get Ready Week, which runs from Sunday 21 to Saturday 27 September, is 'What would you do?'

Locally, the Northland CDEM Group will be posting daily messages and challenges from 21 September on its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland – as well as asking people to share their best tips for coping with events like the recent storms which battered the region.

In the Whangarei District, officials would also have a Civil Defence-themed display in the city's Cameron St Mall on Wednesday 24 September from 11am to 2pm.

Councillor Dimery says when it comes to preparedness, Northlanders "need to be proactive not apathetic".

"Being prepared for all eventualities is what makes Kiwis' 'can do' attitude," he says.

"Everyone has their own special abilities which can be utilised to prepare, respond and recover from a Civil Defence emergency. Please take the time to utilise those unique skills so that we can all get through."

Councillor Dimery says a range of information about Get Ready Week is available online from www.getthru.govt.nz including a range of scenarios asking how people might cope with disasters including a large earthquake, severe storm, a volcanic eruption, a tsunami and pandemic.

Meanwhile, he says general information about Civil Defence in Northland is available from the Northland CDEM Group's Facebook page – www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland and the Northland Regional Council's website www.nrc.govt.nz/civildefence