Wellington leads West Coast in ShakeOut sign-ups

Just over a month from New Zealand’s second-ever national earthquake drill, Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye is encouraging other regions to follow Wellington’s lead and sign up to drop, cover and hold at 9.15am on 15 October.

“Wellington is currently the front runner in terms of the number of people set to take part, with 25 per cent of Wellingtonians already signed up,” says Ms Kaye.

“Neck and neck behind Wellington are the West Coast and Bay of Plenty, where over 21 per cent of locals are already on board.

“Earthquakes can happen anywhere in New Zealand, so I challenge everyone, no matter where you live, to be part of ShakeOut 2015.

“Over 907,000 people are signed up so far, and our goal is to have at least 1.5 million taking part on 15 October.

“Schools are showing great support but we want individuals, families, shops, businesses and other organisations involved too.

“I’d like to acknowledge the great support shown by Sir Peter Jackson, Sir Richard Taylor, Jeremy Corbett, Jeremy Borland, the What Now team and MasterChef winners Kasey and Karena, who have all made great videos sharing the ShakeOut message with Kiwis.

“You can watch these at www.facebook.com/nzgetthru/videos.

“By signing up at www.shakeout.govt.nz, you can get information on the right actions to take before, during and after an earthquake. There are also resources for schools, businesses, non-English speakers and people with disabilities.

“During our last ShakeOut in 2012, New Zealand had the largest participation rate of any ShakeOut anywhere, including countries such as the US, Canada and Japan, where the exercise is also held.

“This is our chance to once again show that we’re world leaders in earthquake preparedness.”

ENDS

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