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It's easy! Get prepared for an emergency

By taking some simple steps, you can make sure you, your family, and your workplace are prepared for an emergency.

The Get Prepared website has useful information on how to be ready for an emergency.

Preparing your household

Meeting point - plan ahead

Arrange and agree on a meeting point for your family in case you can’t get home or are unable to contact each other.

Plan for children and vulnerable family members. Make sure your emergency contact details are up to date with schools or rest homes.

Emergency supplies

We recommend storing 20 litres of water per person, per day. That means, if you have a family of four you'll need 560 litres for seven days. Change the water every 12 months. Before you drink the water, you'll need to treat it by bringing it to the boil.

Store enough food to last at least seven days. Make sure you check any emergency food supplies and replace them regularly. Make sure you also have food for babies, toddlers and pets.

Store some emergency supplies like a torch, battery radio, hand sanitiser and toilet paper.

Have a grab-bag packed and ready to go. Kits should contain comfortable shoes, water and snacks, essential medication or copies of prescriptions, a lightweight raincoat, essential documents, a torch, gloves, radio and a small first aid kit.

Know your neighbours

Know your neighbours – know who might need extra help, or if you think you’ll need help, organise it in advance with your neighbours.

Are you in a tsunami zone?

Check if your home, work or school is in a tsunami evacuation zone. Remember if an earthquake is long or strong – get gone. Don’t wait for an official warning. Move past a Blue Line. If possible, evacuate by foot, or cycle. Stay past the Blue Lines until the official “all clear” is given.

Preparing your business

Your business needs a plan to get through an emergency. Think about how you'll keep running if there's a disaster. If you provide an essential service to your community, how will you make sure people still get the help they need?

If you’d like to learn more about business continuity planning, Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office (WREMO) holds free workshops across the region. These workshops are open to both businesses and community organisations.

We're happy to share our expertise and advice if you would like to discuss emergency-proofing your business or organisation. Simply get in touch with us to start a conversation.

Emergency water

Civil Defence recommends storing at least 20 litres of water per person per day, to last at least seven days for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. That means:

1 person: 140 litres
2 people: 280 litres
4 people: 560 litres