Exercise to test New Zealand’s readiness for ‘big one’
The exercise, Capital Quake 06, will test arrangements at local, regional and national level for dealing with a destructive earthquake in Wellington. "It’s a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’, a big one will hit somewhere in New Zealand,” said Rick Barker. “Thanks to www.getthru.govt.nz, New Zealanders are becoming increasingly aware that they could be on their own for up to three days and that they need to prepare for that. “We need to assure people that central and local government are also prepared to meet the challenge of helping people get through in the event of a disaster," said Rick Barker. The exercise will be jointly led by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) and the Wellington CDEM Group and will involve a wide range of Government agencies, civil defence groups and lifeline utilities. The National Crisis Management Centre at Parliament will be fully operational over the period of the exercise. “This Government is strengthening civil defence preparedness through incremental improvement. We've significantly increased civil defence resourcing and now have a Strategy and a Plan in place that guide our actions. “Exercising our arrangements is the next logical step. The Capital Quake Exercise will be a valuable tool in identifying areas for improvement in our arrangements for dealing with a major earthquake," said Rick Barker.
•Date: 29th August 2006• Region: New Zealand •Type: Article •Topic: BC testing |
