Are you prepared?

Published on 04 October 2019

Kia rite: Be prepared. That's the key point of a new campaign by Palmerston North City Council teaching people how to get prepared for a disaster.

The top three risks to Palmerston North are earthquakes, floods and storms. But, a survey earlier this year found that most Palmerston North residents are not prepared for a civil defence emergency.

Council's Emergency Manager says a lot of people assume they'll never be affected by a disaster.

"It's not a matter of if, but when. We need people to have emergency kits. We'll be there to help, but it's great if residents have enough supplies for at least three to seven days."

He also says that the thought of building an emergency kit can seem overwhelming, and expensive to many. That's why the Council is this week launching a 10-week video campaign on its website and Facebook page teaching people how to build an emergency kit for fewer than $20 a week.

"We wanted to make it easy to build an affordable kit. The things in this video are common sense, and easy to just add to the weekly grocery shop. The cost is based on a two adult, two children household to survive, so the cost may be slightly different for smaller or larger households."

The 40-second videos are fronted by Whakarongo School students, who've recently been learning how to get prepared from our civil defence emergency management team.

Principal Jaco Broodryk says the school is excited to be involved.

"We take civil defence seriously at school and it is great to help other people get prepared. I hope the whole community will get on board."