24 October 2018

Step up your level of earthquake preparedness with a long walk home

After a major disaster, Wellington city’s roads and rail links could be cut off. If you live outside the city, your only option to get home could be on foot. To help the region’s residents get better prepared, community groups in Kāpiti and the Hutt Valley are asking people to join them in practising their long walk home.

On the weekend of 10 and 11 November 2018, Kāpiti Lions and the Rotary clubs of the Hutt Valley will be organising walking events from Wellington to Kāpiti via Porirua, a total distance of 50k, and from Wellington to the Hutt Valley, a total distance of 30k.

Now in its third year, the success of the Kāpiti walk has prompted the Rotary clubs in the Hutt Valley to organise a similar event for their part of the region.

These events are fully supported by the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO), which works to encourage people to increase their level of preparedness for real-life emergencies.

Scott Dray, Community Resilience Team Leader for WREMO, says: “If you regularly visit or work in Wellington, and live outside the city, then we hope you have already given some thought to how you might get home after a major disaster and have a plan. In November, we are encouraging people to go one step further and prepare by taking the opportunity to walk a similar distance and route, with others, as they would after a real event.

“It’s great to see the Long Walk Home event growing in popularity and involving more of the region. In a real emergency it is important to be prepared for a long walk home, such as ensuring you have some comfortable shoes and warm clothes. We hope these events will help people get into the right mindset for what it would be like to walk home from the city. The better our region is prepared for a major disaster, the quicker we will recover.”

This year’s Long Walk Home comprises of three different legs, each starting at 8.15am:

• Saturday 10 November – Walk from Wellington Railway Station to Ngatitoa Domain, Mana (Kāpiti Walk Day 1)

• Sunday 11 November – Walk from Ngatitoa Domain, Mana to Marine Gardens, Raumati (Kāpiti Walk Day 2)

• Sunday 11 November – Walk from Wellington Railway Station to County Lane, Silverstream (Hutt Valley Walk)

The events are open to people of all ages and abilities and participants can choose to complete one or both days of the Kāpiti Walk, or the full Hutt Valley Walk.

The routes taken during these events are unlikely to be the official routes that would be recommended in an emergency but aim to provide participants with an idea of the distance that might be required.

For more information and to register for the Long Walk Home events, go to www.getprepared.nz/longwalkhome

ENDS

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