How will you react when a major tsunami strikes?
All the preparation in the world will not prevent fatalities during a tsunami if people do not follow instructions, civil defence says.
That was one of the key messages to come out of Exercise Tangaroa as emergency management leapt into action across the country.
An earthquake and tsunami scenario gave each region a short period of time to simulate how they would evacuate residents and pool resources before the first wave hit.
Marlborough Kaikoura Rural Fire Authority deputy principal rural fire officer John Foley, as incident controller for the exer- cise, said he hoped Marlburians would take a real tsunami warning seriously.
‘‘When people are told, ‘grab your kit and go’, they need to do just that. You can always go back home afterwards and be critical, and say, ‘that was a waste of time’, but better that than the alternative.’’
The exercise looked at how a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in the Kermadec Trench, about 800 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, would send a tsunami between 3 and 5 metres towards the coastline, affecting the whole country. Regional emergency management teams would be alerted to the tsunami by the Ministry of Civil Defence, and a national state of emergency would be declared.
Marlborough Civil Defence would alert the public through radio and social media, giving Marlburians about three hours before the first wave hit.
In the scenario on Wednesday, an evacuation notice was issued to people in Rarangi, Havelock, Picton, Riverlands, Cloudy Bay, the Marlborough Sounds and areas on the east coast of Blenheim.
‘‘Depending on the time the tsunami is expected to arrive, we may not be sending crews in to door knock. And there will be fatalities if people haven’t moved.’’
For the exercise, three welfare centres were identified for evacuees; Waikawa Marae in Waikawa, Giesen Sports Centre in Renwick and Lansdowne Park in Blenheim. Agencies would assemble at the Emergency Operations Centre on Wither Rd, in Blenheim, to make plans and arrange resources in the hours before the first wave hit.
Marlborough Lines, one of several ‘lifeline’ agencies, would cut electricity to the region just before the first wave hit to prevent transformers from blowing if they came into contact with water.
Marlborough Roads, another ‘lifeline’ agency, would likely close State Highway 1 where it ran along the coast to south of Ward.
Traffic could ‘‘bottleneck’’ on SH1 south of Picton as people tried to drive into town, but it was important everyone remained calm, deputy mayor Terry Sloan said. ‘‘Care for yourself first, and then worry about the others. You might have no help for the first 24 hours.’’
Foley said he was pleased with how the various agencies worked together and a debrief would be held in the next week to identify things that worked well and things to improve on.
‘‘There were no major issues. They’ve done well in a short time space to sector out the different responses. Exercises never go how you think they will, but we achieved all of our objectives.’’
The second day of Exercise Tangaroa would be held on September 14, and would focus on responding after the wave receded.
The final day on September 28 would look at long-term recovery, rebuilding roads, reconnecting the power and sewerage pipes. Vineyard contractors warned.