NZ-RT18 (Hutt City) supporting Hawke’s Bay during Cyclone Gabrielle 2023. Photo: Supplied / Wellington Region Emergency Management Office
For the first time in over 20 years, New Zealand Response Teams (NZRTs) from across the North Island will come together in Wellington to test their ability to respond to a large scale emergency event.
Exercise Poseidon is a 36-hour event based on the scenario of a major earthquake hitting the capital at 6am on Saturday.
The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office manager Jeremy Holmes said it was a great chance for the 140 volunteers to practise their response skills and get familiar with the kinds of roles needed in an earthquake.
"Earthquakes can happen at any time and we really do need to try and get people familiar with the sorts of roles that they need to perform when these sort of events occur and this is an opportunity for volunteers, these are people who train every week to deliver a high-quality skill when we need it," he said.
Holmes said the volunteers will be deployed around the capital, Hutt Valley and Porirua.
"Doing things like crawling through rubble, clearing people out of tunnels, rescuing people, abseiling off buildings to try and lower people from areas, which potentially have been compromised."
Another 30 people - including Defence Force cadets, council workers and university students - will roleplay those who need rescuing.