Canterbury leads way in being ready
According to a Statistics NZ survey — carried out after the biggest Canterbury quakes but before the 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura quake in November — 22 per cent of New Zealanders believe they have the basic preparations necessary to get through.
Figures from the 2012 New Zealand General Social Survey show the proportion of people with basic preparations — a three-day supply of food and water, and a household emergency plan — was up from 17 per cent in 2010. Unsurprisingly, the region with the highest level of basic preparation was Canterbury — 40 per cent had basic preparations, up from 28 per cent in 2010.
Marlborough (36 per cent) and Hawke’s Bay (30 per cent) also had high proportions of people who were basically prepared. In Wellington, 29 per cent of people were prepared and about a quarter of people in the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne region had basic preparations.
The regions with the lowest rates for basic preparation in 2012 were Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Otago, and Southland, with less than one fifth of people prepared.
Nationally, 17 per cent of people had better-than-basic preparations for a natural disaster — they also had a torch, portable radio, spare batteries, first aid kit, and essential medicines, on top of a three-day supply of food and water and a household emergency plan. This figure was up from 12 per cent in 2010.
Approximately one-third of households had an emergency plan in 2012. This has increased steadily from approximately onequarter of households in 2008. impact them either,” Becker said.
“People who find earthquakes quite scary might find it difficult to get prepared — and those people need support and practical advice to help encourage preparedness.” Becker also cited the 2013 Cook Strait and Lake Grassmere quakes that shook the Wellington and Marlborough regions. “The first earthquake happened on a Sunday when everyone was at home, while the second happened on a Friday afternoon when everyone was at work.