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Auckland's civil defence chiefs are looking at improving the region's public education efforts after a survey found that Aucklanders are the least prepared in the country for a natural disaster.
The poll on the worth of the Civil Defence Ministry's two-year "Get Ready Get Thru" campaign found six out of 10 Aucklanders were not sufficiently prepared and only 35 per cent of them had a household emergency plan compared with the national average of 50 per cent.
The Colmar Brunton survey found that, nationally, the campaign remained effective, with 74 per cent of those who said they saw the advertisements being prompted to think or take action to prepare for a disaster.
About 31 per cent of Aucklanders who said being prepared was important but who were not prepared, blamed it on laziness or complacency.
Auckland was below the national average in all eight measures used to detect a region's readiness for emergency.
The survey reflected the belief of many Aucklanders that they would not face an emergency, said Harry O'Rourke, group controller for the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group.
"Yet this winter we have seen flooding and extreme weather ... Auckland's civil defence emergency managers have been actively involved in assisting over 100 people to evacuate 50 homes because of landslips.
"Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes."
