Emergency Management Otago
24 May 2018
Project AF8, the South Island-wide effort to coordinate planning and preparation for a severe earthquake on the Alpine Fault, has released a series of short videos to mark the end of the first two years of its work.
The videos coincide with the completion of the draft SAFER Framework – SAFER stands for South Island Alpine Fault Earthquake Response. The framework provides the basis for civil defence, emergency services, lifelines utilities and other partner agencies to align and coordinate their planning for a rupture on the Alpine Fault.
The Chair of the Project AF8 Steering Group, Angus McKay from Emergency Management Southland, says there is compelling geological evidence stretching back 8000 years to show that the Alpine Fault produces a significant earthquake of magnitude 8 or greater every 300 years on average. Carbon dating of sediments from two sites in Fiordland show that the last rupture occurred in 1717.
“Some of New Zealand’s best scientific minds from universities, Crown Research Institutes and GNS Science have worked together to produce a credible scenario for what will happen with the next major earthquake on the Alpine Fault. We have used that scenario to work with our partners to identify the foreseeable impacts on communities and critical infrastructure across the South Island.
“The next step is to plan in more detail for a coordinated response to those impacts and the extensive disruption they will cause. Helping people to understand what an Alpine Fault earthquake will mean for them, their families and communities will be a central part of our next year’s work,” Mr McKay says.
The project has produced four two-minute videos that provide basic information about the Alpine Fault, how responses will be coordinated, and examples of how communities and businesses can be more resilient to the impact of emergencies. A companion set of longer TED Talk-style videos provides the detail for those seeking a more in-depth understanding of the science underpinning Project AF8. Watch the videos online: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3nsXLqxO5OGcYCmEcS56sA
The draft SAFER Framework was completed last month and is currently being reviewed by all of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups across the South Island and their partner agencies. Project AF8 will begin implementing the finalised framework from 1 July, when it will also be publicly available online at www.projectaf8.co.nz.
Project AF8 is being funded by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and through the Resilience to Nature’s Challenges Fund.
