Bayden Barber: Better to be safe than sorry

Bayden Barber

Civil Defence training has proven timely for Hastings District Councillors who had a morning with the Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Team only last Thursday.

This in light of the 7.5 earthquake that hit the Hanmer Springs area early yesterday morning (Monday) and was felt all around the country with a tsunami warning all along the east coast.

The training pointed out clearly that the two major risks to Hawke's Bay are first earthquake and second tsunami. However, we also need to be aware of other key risks in the list such as number 5, flooding (Waimarama Coast, 2011) and number 10 hazardous substances event (Havelock North, 2016).

Although the training was centred on the responsibilities of council and councillors during a major emergency (declaring a state of emergency, response and recovery etc), it also focused on our personal responsibility to be prepared in the event of an emergency.

Do we have a 72-hour kit? Do we have a family escape plan? What happens if we are separated from our family members? All of these questions are very relevant and need to be considered by all our residents.

This morning I, along with probably most of the population, experienced the power of ruaumoko (earthquakes) as our house shook and swayed, it seemed forever. Not long afterwards the local fire station emergency siren blared over the airwaves. The local Civil Defence crew kicked into action, warning local residents to move to higher ground due to the real threat of a tsunami.

We live on the main evacuation route to higher ground for Waimarama village. Streams of cars containing both young and old headed up the hill from the early hours, with the high ground mark noted by a fire truck with lights flashing.

Around 5am irregular crashing of waves could be heard from the beach in the dark. It was a long and chilly waiting game inside cars parked along the road until the warning was downgraded.

In Waimarama we are not strangers to tsunami warnings and floods. The 2011 flood is still fresh in our memories due to the scale of destruction experienced.

I hope this experience leads to action and people make preparations for the real threat of a major emergency.

As the saying goes "it's better to be safe than sorry".

Bayden Barber is a Hastings District Councillor and a resident of Waimarama.