Dozens of locals gathered in Ōpōtiki as the iwi organised a hui to ensure whānau preparedness following last Friday's tsunami warning.
Opotiki Photo: By Ulrich Lange, Dunedin, New Zealand - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
At the end of last week a severe earthquake near the Kermadec Islands sparked tsunami alerts around the Pacific and left thousands of New Zealanders fleeing to higher ground.
It was a second warning for those from Te Tairāwhiti who fled to higher ground earlier in the morning of 5 March following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the East Cape.
The East Coast was at risk of tsunami so iwi Whakatōhea organised an event to remind people of how best to be prepared in an emergency.
Te Pou Oranga o Whakatōhea and Civil Defence workers were there to debrief with the community about how last week played out and what services they can provide in any future emergencies.
The iwi wanted to check in with its community to see how everyone was affected.
Gerard McCormack, local controller for Opotiki Civil Defence, says it was important to take feedback on what they could have done better.
"In the main it has been positive but we could have prepared ourselves a little bit better as a community and that is something we will be working on with our Civil Defence team for people to think about what provisions they need if there was another emergency again," he said.
McCormack said there was a huge willingness to be better prepared and kaimahi at the event showed how best to create an emergency pack with what you have at home - rather than buying a whole new pack off the shelf.
"This has been a good opportunity to reflect and using that as a delveopment opportunity - to build on existing general awareness already."