Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has joined forces with the Alpine Fault (AF8+) programme to help prepare whānau for another earthquake event.
A recent study led by Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington senior lecturer Dr Jamie Howarth indicated a 75% probability of an Alpine Fault earthquake in the next 50 years.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa said storytelling was a vital part of Māori culture and an effective way to inform whānau on the issue.
"Our Māori culture is rooted in oral tradition, our knowledge, history, customs, [and] beliefs. Our whakapapa have all been passed on through storytelling.
"Stories connect us to knowledge and places and they help us make sense of the world and enable us to share knowledge with others."
In Māori tradition, narratives were often used to teach children important lessons or warn them of various dangers, he said.
"We had a whole narrative around how earthquakes occur in Māori tradition.
"We often refer to one of our deities, one of our atua, Rūaumoko, who remains in the womb of papatūānuku (Earth mother), and we credit for being responsible for earthquakes."
Mr Tipa said messages surrounding the Alpine Fault can be "quite confronting".
By "weaving" mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), Ngāi Tāhu pūrākau (stories), and scientific modelling, whānau could feel more encouraged to prepare for an emergency situation, Mr Tipa said.
"Science tells us the Alpine Fault ruptures about every 300 years, and that the last significant rupture occurred in 1717," Mr Tipa said.
"Over millions of years, these seismic events have shaped the landscape of Te Waipounamu (South Island), lifting it from the ocean and forming the peaks of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) with each large earthquake the Alpine Fault generates."
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu created a campaign video of a pōua (grandfather) sharing stories of their tīpuna with his mokopuna (grandchild), helping her understand the concept of the Alpine Fault.
Mr Tipa said marae "naturally lead responses in emergency events" by providing aid and shelter.
But whānau also need to prepare themselves to reduce the impact of an emergency, he said.
"The key thing is to take action now.
AF8 science lead Dr Tom Robinson said it was impossible to predict the next large Alpine Fault earthquake but "we can prepare for it, and we need to work together to do that".
"Anything we do to prepare now will make it easier for us to respond and recover in the future, not just for a large Alpine Fault earthquake, but any other natural hazard event that challenges us here in Te Waipounamu."
Funding from The Earthquake Commission, Toka Tū Ake (EQC) contributed to the campaign.
More information on how to prepare for natural hazard events is available on the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and AF8 programme websites.
