Power Outage a Reminder to Get Ready Get Thru

Ruapehu civil defence said that the fault on the Ohākune Transpower transformer over the weekend was a reminder of the need to have a plan to deal with unexpected emergencies.

Ruapehu District Council Emergency Management Officer Nick Watson said that people should think about and plan for how they would get by without power and other essential services for a minimum of three days.

“Many rural properties on water tanks are reliant on electric pumps and people should know how to take water out of the tank for cooking, flushing toilets, washing and other essential requirements.”

“Ideally people should have a generator or petrol pump that can be used in these circumstances.”

“With any back-up system it is important to ensure it is serviced regularly and that they have plenty of spare fuel on hand and that everyone old enough knows how to operate them.”

“Alternative means of cooking and boiling water is also important and so people should also ensure that the gas bottle on the barbeque is full.”

Mr Watson added that when the power is off phone landlines still work but people should ensure they have a plug-in phone and are not reliant on a rechargeable phone.”

“Emergencies such as this can hit at any time with little or no warning and local emergency services can easily be stretched or even overwhelmed by a large event so it is important to plan to look after yourself and your loved ones.”

“People should get their family or household together and agree on a functional emergency plan so that everyone knows what to do in an emergency.”

“A bit of forethought and planning now can help protect yourself, your family, home, business and community and help remove a lot of stress and worry when an emergency of civil defence event occurs,” he said.

“Helpful information on creating a household emergency plan, assembling an emergency survival and getaway kit and other helpful advice can be found on the ‘get ready-get thru’ website; www.getthru.govt.nz. “

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