Tuesday 10 July, 2012

Almost 18,000 people sign up to earthquake drill

Almost 18,000 people from the Horizons Region have registered to take part in New Zealand’s biggest earthquake drill, New Zealand ShakeOut.

The number is third only to Auckland and Wellington in a collective effort to have 1 million people from across New Zealand involved in the earthquake drill at 9.26am, September 26.

“With more than two months until the drill it’s fantastic to see so many people thinking about getting prepared and signing up to take part but we’ve still got a way to go to beat our big city neighbours,” Horizons emergency manager Shane Bayley said.

“Our largest number of participants is in the Manawatu but numbers are creeping up in Palmerston North and Wanganui. Along with individuals and families we also have over 6,000 participants from the tertiary education sector as well as 17 schools and 9 businesses.

“A disaster could strike at any time and while it’s important to be prepared at home, it’s equally as important to have a plan for when you’re at work or school,” Mr Bayley said.

Powerco was one of the very first registrations when the campaign began, and has been joined by some of New Zealand’s biggest and best known companies, including Fonterra, The Warehouse and Air New Zealand.

The drill ties in with Horizons efforts to get people thinking about emergency preparedness and complements the recent online launch of its Surviva game.

Signing up to participate in the drill is simple and can be completed in less than two minutes via the ShakeOut website http://shakeout.govt.nz/

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