MEDIA RELEASE
28 May 2013

Exercise Te Ripahapa

All Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups across the South Island will be participating in an exercise tomorrow (29 May, 2013) based on a simulated massive earthquake event of the Alpine Fault rupturing.

Neville Reilly, Regional Civil Defence Group Controller says the exercise is designed to strenuously test how South Island CDEM Groups and the National Coordination Management Centre coordinate with each other in a large-scale event.

“The alpine fault exercise will allow participants to practise activating their Emergency Operations Centre with speed and efficiency as well as testing the information sharing and requests for equipment that will occur should an event of such magnitude actually happen.

“Just as it is important for the public to be prepared for potential large scale emergency events, it is also important that Civil Defence Emergency Management and emergency staff are well drilled in their response processes.

“The exercise will also give us the opportunity to apply lessons learned during the Canterbury earthquakes to our operational procedures,” he says.

Neville Reilly says this would be one of the largest Civil Defence exercises conducted in recent times.

The basic scenario of the exercise is centred around a major earthquake occurring on the West Coast of New Zealand, causing strong shaking to be felt across the entire South Island and lower North Island.

Specific details of Te Ripahapa are being kept confidential prior to the event so the outcome of the exercise and the learning experiences of those participating are not jeopardised.

ENDS

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