Tsunami drill for students

 

Parents of children at Mangawhai Beach School can find some assurance that if a tsunami hit the eastern coastal shores during school hours, their children will know what to do and where to go.

Students and staff members put into practice the slogan ‘Get High Fast’ on May 26, with a Civil Defence tsunami drill.

Congregating outside the school, the students were guided by staff to walk quickly towards and across Insley Bridge before aiming for higher ground at a private property on the corner of Black Swamp Road.

Regional Council’s Susan Botting and Civil Defence’s Sharon Douglas were in attendance to give guidance and feedback and the school was assisted by Traffic Safe.

Principal Aaron Kemp says he was pleased with the exercise.

“It was very quick, only seven minutes and we were only walking.”

However the exercise highlighted some safety concerns.

“In the case of a real tsunami, the Insley Street bridge could pose some problems,” Kemp says. “There will be a lot traffic with frantic people trying to leave the area which could make the bridge dangerous for the students to cross. We’ll need to talk with council about the possibility of building a footbridge.”

When faced with an imminent threat, parents’ natural tendency to rush to the school to rescue their children may actually impede evacuation efforts.

The school advices that parents would be best to avoid Mangawhai’s main streets if possible, instead use inland country roads such as Devich and Coal Hill Roads to get to the Black Swamp meeting area.

Other plans for evacuation depend on how much warning time the school, and Mangawhai, is given says Kemp.

“If the bridge is brought down by an earthquake or tsunami, Plan B would be to head in the opposite direction, towards the new hilltop site of the Causeway Church,” he says. “If we have an hours warning we would bus the children up to Kaiwaka Sports Complex and parents could pick up their children from there.”

Natural warning signs of a possible tsunami include strong earthquakes or a weak rolling which lasts more than one minute, sea levels suddenly rising and receding and unusual noises similar to a freight train or jet engine coming from the sea. People need to get to higher ground of at least 35 metres above sea level immediately. n See nrc.govt.nz/civildefence/ for more information.


HIGHER GROUND: Deputy principal Paula Bygrave (centre) leads students across Insley Street bridge to Black Swamp Road.

PHOTO/ARTICLE by Julia Wade

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