Newlands presentation: how to get prepared

The Wellington Emergency Management Office (WEMO) is inviting people from Newlands and surrounding suburbs to a ‘how-to’ presentation on emergency preparedness in the first week of May.

The presentation, on Tuesday 3 May, starting at 7pm and lasting just over an hour, will be at the Newlands Community Centre in Batchelor Street.

It is the latest in a series of similar talks being held around the city by WEMO – the City Council’s emergency management office.

Fred Mecoy, the Council’s Emergency Preparedness Manager, says the Christchurch earthquakes have greatly raised interest among Wellingtonians about what they should do to survive a disaster or major emergency and its aftermath.

Attendees will get a snappy presentation on emergency preparedness in the home, workplace and other locations like schools and cars.

The presentations provide an opportunity for people to ask questions that may have arisen while looking at their own preparedness.

Presentation attendees will also get a briefing on community preparedness and the Civil Defence volunteer structure in place in across the city.

Fred says the aim of the presentations is to show people that it’s not difficult to get a household, workplace or community better prepared. The presentations have been given to “packed houses” in several other Wellington suburbs and WEMO is keen to continue the programme across the city.

“The most successful ones have been when we’ve worked alongside local community groups who have helped us publicise the event throughout their networks”. This has resulted in all sorts of people helping to spread the word including cub scouts, sea cadets, residents’ associations and volunteer fire fighters.

With new staff appointed this month, WEMO is in a better position to increase the number of these presentations, and is keen to hear from groups in any other part of the city who would like to help with getting their community better prepared. “Preparing communities isn’t something we do for them, we do it with them,” says Fred. “However, unlike in previous years, we’re now going for a consistent approach city-wide.”

Interested participants will also be able to register their interest in joining and training to become part of WEMO’s rapidly-expanding volunteer network.

For further details:
www.wemo.org.nz or WemoNZ on Facebook

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