Date/Time
Date(s) - Thu 22 February
18:00
Location
Petone Library, 7 Britannia St, Petone
Free public talks on Wellington’s earthquake and tsunami risk next week.
The Royal Society wants to encourage people to learn more about these risks and what it means for them and their community, and, importantly, how they can prepare.
Experts are bringing the science of our largest and most active fault, the Hikurangi Subduction Zone to Wellington.
The Hikurangi Subduction Zone runs the length of the east coast of Te Ika-a-Māui/the North Island and is Aotearoa’s largest source of earthquake and tsunami hazards. It poses an invisible but ever-present danger as it can produce a magnitude 9 earthquake and a large tsunami, which could arrive within minutes of the initial earthquake.
It sounds overwhelming, but we know from Japan in 2011 that when people are prepared and act quickly, they can get through, and this is what the Royal Society wants to encourage through their public talks. The Japan 2011 earthquake and tsunami were also caused by a subduction zone, similar to ours, but because people were well prepared and evacuated in time, 95% of people survived.
The public talks are a fantastic opportunity for people to learn more about the risks local to them while connecting with others.
People are encouraged to bring their friends and whānau and take this opportunity to learn about the science and what it means for them and their community, and, importantly, how they can prepare.