It’s always good to be disaster ready
Two weeks after John Evans took on his new role with the Taranaki Red Cross he went through a baptism of fire.
The 53-year-old former LandSAR and volunteer firefighter from Auckland was establishing a Disaster Welfare Support Team for the region when ex-cyclone Gita swept through in February 2018.
Around 26,000 properties from New Plymouth to Urenui, in north Taranaki, were without running water and severe water restrictions were in place.
Water, including filtered, had to be boiled and thousands of residents were asked to avoid flushing their toilets or taking a shower.
At the time Evans’ team only had a few members so others from around New Zealand including Auckland, Kapiti, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay were deployed to help residents.
‘‘The vast majority of the population were good, people were taking care of each other which was fantastic.’’
Now the Taranaki team has 14 members, ranging in age from 17 to 70, and will be on hand at the Red Cross ‘‘Be Good and Ready’’ open day on Saturday between 10am and 12.30pm at its base on Gill St, New Plymouth.
Evans said while the majority of people coped during the aftermath of Gita, it wasn’t a major disaster and there was always room to improve.
‘‘That was a very small example of what we may experience in a larger disaster and it was only one service affected.
‘‘If we can have populations that are ready and resilient then it makes our job that much easier because people can survive for those 72 hours and know what to expect.’’
The open day is part of a Red Cross national campaign to promote readiness and would include meeting the local response team, learning how a welfare centre was set up, tips on what to have in your grab-and-go bag, as well as other advice that could help in an emergency, he said.
‘‘Things like hooking up with your neighbours – make sure you know them before you need them.’’
Evans said his team was now ready to be deployed anywhere around the country in an emergency but they were always looking for new members.
Anyone interested in joining the team or the Red Cross is encouraged to contact its New Plymouth office.