Stay Safe, Stay Informed
Published on 11 October 2017
11 October 2017
Emergencies can happen anywhere, any time and without warning.
Get Ready Week - October 9-15 prepares communities around New Zealand for emergencies. Council Emergency Management Officer Anthony Edwards says it’s a good time to be thinking about emergency preparedness considering the recent events which have affected New Zealand, such as the Kaikoura Earthquake in November 2016 and our recent weather event in April 2017.
“Whanganui is prone to many emergency events, such as flood and weather-related events, the impact of a volcanic eruption, earthquakes and coastal tsunamis, as well as strong winds and rain, as we have seen during the winter of 2017.
“Following the June 2015 flooding event, where 200 people were evacuated from the urban Whanganui River area and many were cut off in areas of our rural communities, we have seen more emergency preparedness awareness as demonstrated in the last weather event in April.”
Whanganui has had its share of emergency events and every time the community gets better at being prepared. This includes individual and family preparedness measures such as having a family plan and having enough food and water to be self-sufficient at home for at least three days, says Mr Edwards.
“That means making sure you know what radio stations to listen to, that you have a radio and batteries and get to know your neighbours so you can support each other,” he says.
Bunnings Warehouse Whanganui – helping you get through
Pop in to Bunnings Warehouse Whanganui from October 11 and every purchase you make will get you a ‘Get Ready, Get Thru’ shopping bag. The Bunnings store, 131 Ridgway Street, will also be displaying items you can buy for your emergency supplies kit. Thanks Bunnings for your support.
Radio
If the power goes out, a solar or battery powered radio (or your car radio) can help you keep up-to-date with the latest news. Make sure you have one of these in your emergency supply kit.
During an emergency, Brian FM 91.2 stations broadcast directly from the Whanganui District Civil Defence headquarters and allow us to rapidly let you know what’s happening. Brian FM is on 91.2 Whanganui, 93.2 Taihape and 90.2 Mt Ruapehu, plus Reel World Radio on 92.0 Whanganui.
The following radio stations are also part of our local communications team and will have regular updates:
The Hits 89.6FM
More FM 92.8FM
RadioLIVE 96FM
Awa FM 100FM
Online
Make sure you ‘like’ Whanganui District Council’s Facebook page so you know you are getting the latest, official local information during an emergency. You can also visit the Council website, www.whanganui.govt.nz for public information.
Know your neighbours
There’s strength in numbers. In an emergency, work with your neighbours to get through. Email Neighbourhood Support or call 06 344 6746 to find out more.
If you’re not part of a neighbourhood support group, it doesn’t hurt to pop next door and see if your neighbours are prepared and how you can help each other out.
Emergency Mobile Alerts (coming soon)
The Ministry of Civil Defence is implementing a new nationwide emergency alert channel, where authorised emergency agencies can send to alerts to mobile phones as a new way to receive information about emergencies in your area. The Emergency Mobile Alert system is expected to be available by the end of 2017.