What have New Zealanders learnt from earthquake disasters in their country?.

Conference Dates 31 January-3 February 1981. The 50th anniversary of the Hawkes Bay Earthquake.

Although the threat of earthquake is a serious one in New Zealand, planning decisions often opt for crisis response measures rather than for precautionary ones. Various compensation schemes have been established, but they would be quite inadequate in the event of a major earthquake. Lack of suitable liaison between local and overall civil defence authorities, and between these and the general public would cause difficulty in a post emergency situation. Public attitudes towards earthquake threat are very complacent. They are based not only on an extraordinary unwillingness to acknowledge the existence of such threat but also on old habits of relying on the Government to handle everything. It is important that existing emergency measures be re-evaluated and that a comprehensive education programme be started as soon as possible