Putiki children ShakeOut to prepare for earthquakes and tsunami

Whanganui District Council emergency manager Tim Crowe was on deck as about 100 Putiki children were evacuated in a earthquake and tsunami drill. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Get Ready Week has kicked off with about 100 Putiki children clambering for higher ground as part of an earthquake and tsunami drill.

The country's national earthquake drill and tsunami hikoi - New Zealand ShakeOut - is on Thursday at 9.30am but a series of drills will be held around Whanganui tsunami zones in the lead up.

Yesterday about 100 Putiki children from the kohanga reo, kura and kindergarten took part in a 'drop, cover, hold' earthquake drill before evacuating the low lying part of Putiki to higher ground under Cracroft Dr.

"It's been shown that practising drills like this, particularly with children, increases their survival rates by a dramatic amount," Whanganui District Council emergency manager Tim Crowe said.

"If you get the kids understanding and doing it, they'll often be the guides for their families.

"With kids, if you take the fear out of it, you'll get a really good uptake. Adults tend to rely on their own experience whereas children will rely on what they've been told or taught."

Crowe said Mowhanau, the lower Whanganui river areas, the airport and Putiki were Whanganui's tsunami-prone zones.

It was better to be over cautious, he said.

"Nature doesn't go to human plans, quite often."

As an idea of how powerful a tsunami can be, Crowe said one cubic metre of water weighed one tonne.

"That's a lot. And it's moving and it keeps moving."

Get Ready Week is run by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management and similar drills will be held with Whanganui pupils in Gonville and Castlecliff in the lead up to the national ShakeOut on Thursday.

"They've got an education package and they also get a bag of goodies at the end of it," Crowe said.