The prompt comes after the second earthquake in the Dunedin area in just over a week.
GeoNet reported a magnitude 3.5 earthquake just outside Lee Steam, 30km west of Dunedin at 2.25am yesterday.
More than 200 people reported feeling the shake to GeoNet.
It follows a magnitude 3.8 earthquake about 1am just outside Lee Stream last Tuesday.
University of Otago chair of earthquake science Prof Mark Stirling said people in Dunedin did not often think about earthquakes, but there were a few fault lines with potential for disasters on the scale of the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch quakes.
While there could be a few more shakes around Lee Stream soon, it did not appear to be an area with a lot of potential for a major event.
However, there were other fault lines that ran near the city with that potential, such as the Akatore and Titri faults.
It was important people be aware Dunedin had seismic activity and prepared accordingly.
GNS Science seismology project scientist Katie Jacobs said New Zealand was a very tectonically active place.
Clusters of earthquakes were common, the most dramatic example being aftershocks following large earthquakes.
They were caused in part because earthquakes changed the state of the surrounding area where they occurred.
A similar, but slightly smaller pair of earthquakes occurred in July 2020 near the same area as the recent two.
Across the wider New Zealand area there were 20 shallow earthquakes magnitude 3.5 or greater in May and over a thousand earthquakes of magnitude 1 or greater.
For an earthquake to be considered shallow it had to be less than about 40km deep, but the pair near Lee Stream were only 5km deep.
Because New Zealand was so active, being outside the highest risk areas did not mean there was no risk.
There was a lot of work being done to try to predict earthquakes, but at present there was no way to tell if the pair of quakes was a sign of more to come.
However, they did serve as a good reminder to prepare for disasters.
Natural hazards could not be prevented, but the risk could and should be reduced by preparing your home, Ms Jacobs said
The National Emergency Management Agency recommends having three days worth of water, long-lasting food that did not need cooking, toilet paper and plastic buckets for an emergency toilet, work gloves and a mask ready in cause of an emergency.
