More than 2000 Queenstown Lakes residents have signed up to take part in ShakeOut, the first national earthquake public preparedness drill.
One million people across New Zealand are expected to stop what they are doing and take part in the nationwide Civil Defence emergency management initiative at 9.26am on September 26.
Queenstown Lakes District Council emergency management officer Jon Mitchell said ShakeOut was aimed at helping people, businesses and schools be better prepared for major earthquakes and give everyone a chance to practise how to protect themselves.
"Living as close to the Alpine Fault as we do, we need to take the prospect of a major earthquake seriously. Every year, month, week and day sees the likelihood of a major earthquake on the Alpine Fault increase, and this exercise will help everyone prepare to protect themselves and get through such an event," Mr Mitchell said.
Already 2107 people in the district had signed up, and Mr Mitchell said he expected many more registrations.
"The Canterbury earthquakes taught us many important lessons about what happens when an earthquake strikes, and we need to regularly take the time to remind ourselves of what to do if a big one hits here.
"ShakeOut is a great opportunity for everyone to check their level of preparedness and make adjustments if need be. It is an excellent time to think about what you will be dealing [with] once the shaking stops and you crawl out from your place of safety.
"What can you do now to make the places you live, work or do business more safe and resilient to earthquakes?"
As a whole, the Queenstown Lakes district had good emergency management systems in place, and Mr Mitchell said he was happy to talk to any individual or organisation about any aspect of earthquake and general emergency-management risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery.
A series of presentations on earthquake response were also being planned around the time of ShakeOut and, before the exercise, the council staff and managers would also be discussing and developing their roles in relation to earthquake risk.
Anyone interested in taking part in ShakeOut could register through www.getthru.govt.nz
