NEWS TIPS Emergency practice in Wadestown

How would you and your family or flatmates cope in the event of a major earthquake hitting the Western suburbs destroying homes and key public facilities,cutting power, water supply and access to all the usual city services and retail centres and, crucially, preventing emergency services being able to get through to provide help for several days or even weeks?

This was the scenario provided to a group of Wadestown locals, including local Residents Association representatives and the Wadestown Community Centre Coordinator who gathered at the Wadestown Plunket rooms/Wadestown Emergency Hub at 117 Wadestown Road on 13 May for a practice run, organised by Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) Emergency Management Advisor Heather McCaskill.

Emergency hubs are places where people in each suburb can share ideas, skills, and resources

Do you have ‘Working from Home Footstrain”?!

During the period of the Covid pandemic, a good portion of our patients have been working at home. Many folks wore slippers all day and have now discovered that their feet complain when put back into work shoes. Others have sore heels or arches, which feel worse on first standing in the morning. At Active Feet Podiatry we have seen a large increase in these type of problems. Dr Halpine can help give relief for problems such as issues with nails, painful feet or corns or callouses. We also will be able to remove hard skin and make your feet feel like new!

Dr. Tim Halpine Caring

Ph: 04 473 8696

Level 2, 85 The Terrace, Wellington (opposite Solnet House and Aurora Terrace).

Bring your work and sport shoes and Dr Halpine can give advice regarding selecting the right shoe and ascertain if you are in need of additional support, ie orthotic devices.

Dr Tim Halpine of Active Feet Podiatry is open and ready to sort out your feet. We are located at floor 2, 85 the Terrace and also at the Ngaio Medical Centre. We can be reached for booking a consult on 04 473 8696, ActiveFeetPodiatry.com to help each other and their community deal with the crucial first few days after a significant emergency event.

If a major disaster strikes, the hub will be opened and run by people in the community, using the skills and resources that are already available.

Although the hubs contain some basic equipment such as a VHF radio and some administrative resources, the emphasis is on locals working out what roles and tasks can be allocated or delegated to local volunteers in the first few hours or days following a disaster.

Heather explained that following the recent significant effects of Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bay there has been renewed interest in how commu- nities handle majordisasters and what lessons can be learned from their impact. deal with home sanitation arrangements. Heather held a draw for all participants in the day’s practice to win the demo kit at the end of the session. The kit is on display in the foyer of the Wadestown library until the end of the month. Photo: Supplied.

The response practice, using an earthquake scenario, was a practical way to learn how the Community Emergency Hub works and enabled locals to gain hands-on experience solving issues that might arise following a disaster, as well as providing an opportunity for neighbours and locals to get together.

On completion of the exercise participants enjoyed hot pizza courtesy of WREMO.

“It was great to see Wadestown residents coming along to support the response practice and understand how their community may problem- solve together following a disaster,” Heather says.

University of Otago

Sheilah Winn

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