Flooding in and around Parsons St and Carlton Ave, Whanganui, in February this year. Photo / NZME

Free sessions to help you be prepared for emergencies

Author: Ilona Hanne,
Publish Date: Mon, 15 May 2023, 10:48AM

Floods, earthquakes, extreme weather ... it seems that every week there is another Civil Defence type emergency dominating the headlines currently.

Civil Defence teams across the country are encouraging people to prepare for such disasters and to make sure they are prepared should something happen near their home. It’s an important message, says Jane Bilderbeck, Hakeke Street Community Centre manager, but even more important is ensuring people understand exactly what being prepared actually means.

“There is so much talk about making sure your emergency kit is ready, but what is that?”

She says emergency preparedness means knowing what to have in an emergency kit and how to maintain it, who people should call in an emergency and how to find information if power is down.

Jane says a presentation by Tim Crowe from Whanganui District Council’s emergency management team, and hosted by the team at Hakeke Street Community Centre, will help answer all the above questions and more, and she encourages people to attend one of the two free sessions next week.

Each session runs for around 45 minutes, she says, with two time slots available to ensure as many people can come as possible around work and other commitments. The sessions will consider a range of topics around emergency preparedness including how often your emergency kit should be changed and where the best place to keep it is.

“We should all be prepared, so come along and find out how best to do that.”