Review of the Tsunami Evacuation 2017

national warning cancellation message. It appears the Deputy Commissioner in Wellington had access
to information from MCDEM earlier than the information being issued by MCDEM to CDEM Groups.
Prior to 14 November, CDEM staff had a process underway to update and communicate the Previous
Evacuation Plan illustrating the evacuation zones. The review process was not complete and the
updated maps were not yet signed off. Since 14 November, an updated interactive tsunami
evacuation map has been posted on Council’s website 3 . The current map provides for two different
evacuation zones depending on the tsunami threat. Evacuation zone “red” relates to a tsunami threat
for beach, foreshore and marine areas. Evacuation zone “orange” relates to a tsunami threat which
impacts land areas. Evacuation zone “orange” covers the risks associated with local, regional or distant
source tsunamis. In other words, the map is based on a worst case scenario in order to provide
residents with one map to refer to. The Council’s interactive map enables users to enter their address
to determine whether that property is inside the evacuation zone. There are also pdf printable
versions of the specific area maps available on the same webpage. They are high level maps which do
not provide specific street names so are more difficult to apply to specific properties.
Recommendations
Residents require information and education on the differences between local, regional and distant
source tsunamis and how to respond in each case. The reliance on activation of sirens should be
addressed. Self-directed evacuation of residents in the evacuation zones must be encouraged to avoid
delay. A good communication strategy is required to engage with residents and co-create material
which covers the types of tsunami risk, the role sirens play, other methods of communicating an
evacuation, evacuation procedures and routes to be taken by residents, etc. for each community.
All other relevant agencies (including Fire Brigade, CDEM Group, CDEM, Canterbury District Health
Board, and Ministry of Education) with input from local communities, should be coordinated to assist
Christchurch Police with the Police Evacuation Plan review. This will ensure that the Police Evacuation
Plan dovetails in with any material and messaging issued by other agencies and seek endorsement
from affected residents. The review should also consider how the security of residents’ homes could
be managed.
In addition to the Police Evacuation Plan, an evacuation plan specific to each community should be cocreated
with the other agencies and residents (Community Evacuation Plan). It should cover the
different responses required depending on a local, regional and distant source tsunami. The
Community Evacuation Plan should include methods of evacuation (running, cycling, etc.) and specific
exit routes that evacuees can follow to reduce traffic congestion, where possible. Additionally, the
Community Evacuation Plan should cater for the evacuation of vulnerable residents and visitors who
are not able to self-evacuate. Consideration should be given to whether the Community Evacuation
Plan should cater for night vs day scenarios. Additionally, the evacuation of pets should be
incorporated into each Community Evacuation Plan. A specific welfare centre (which is as close as
possible) outside the evacuation zone should be identified in the Community Evacuation Plan to
provide a destination for those residents who need somewhere to stay and information on what
resources will be provided at that centre.
Once agreed between the various agencies and residents, the Community Evacuation Plan should be
made publicly available and disseminated in conjunction with other tsunami information to residents
within that community in all forms to make it as accessible as possible.
Consideration should be given to exploring the idea of engaging contractors (and possibly volunteers)
to assist Police with traffic management coordination in an evacuation. In the same manner that
3 https://www.ccc.govt.nz/services/civil-defence/what-to-do-in-an-emergency/tsunami/evacuating
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