ShakeOut at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic was one of thousands of organisations and 1.3 million people around New Zealand taking part in ShakeOut, the national earthquake drill that took place this morning at 9.26am.

All of New Zealand changed forever on 22 February last year when Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. 182 people lost their lives, 6,500 were injured and many thousands were left homeless and without jobs. Christchurch lost 1360 commercial buildings and 80% of all businesses.

Gae Stevenson, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor at the Polytechnic has recently returned from the New Horizons Conference (Rebuilding Health and Safety on Solid Ground) in Christchurch.

“One thing that really hit home to me was speaker Peter Townsend [Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce] saying ‘thank goodness for 4 September, without it there could have been many more deaths on 22 February’. It was almost as if 4 September was the practice run for the real thing – and that’s what the rest of New Zealand needs.”

Many of the Christchurch injuries could have been preventable if correct safety precautions had taken place. Falling debris resulted in loss of limbs while broken ankles were common with people failing to crouch and take cover.

For the Polytechnic, the national ShakeOut provided the opportunity to ensure both their staff and their students were prepared. More than 3,000 people around both the Windermere and Bongard Campuses took part in this morning’s drill which also provided a timely reminder for everyone to take a close look around at their work and learning spaces and see what things could potentially harm them.

“Many of the staff and students have indicated they will be doing similar exercises at home with their families. By doing this, if we can prevent even one injury, then it would have been worthwhile.”