Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

At 9.26am on September 26, New Zealand held its first nationwide earthquake drill – called New Zealand ShakeOut. More than 1.3 million people participated, which was a fantastic response.

It was good practice for us all, because we never know when we may experience an earthquake. But participants were also asked to consider being an observer and return a form to help the Civil Defence agencies to know how successful the drill was and what could be improved in the future. This is not about evaluating how well we performed in the drill, but about finding out what should be done differently. The forms are available on the website http://www.shakeout.govt.nz/ and the last day for forms to be accepted is 26 October 2012.

Also on the website is the opportunity to share your ShakeOut stories. Some of these are highly entertaining – like the family who needed their First Aid kit to treat the damaged hand resulting from a vigorous dive to the floor; the old radio that wouldn't work; the poke in the eye, the whack in the face, and nearly a hammered finger or two suffered when trying to put a tent up in the wind; and the dog that joined its owners on all fours under the table!

New Zealand ShakeOut might be over for now, but you can still work on your preparedness for emergencies. Small steps now can make a difference to your ability to recover faster during an emergency. Check out the Get Ready Get Thru website for information on how to get ready, so you'll get through if the real one hits.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please email me: [email protected] or phone me: 07 579 5150. Or you can check out my website: www.janenees.co.nz