evacuate! - Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management

schools (if there is need for a
rapid evacuation), nursing homes
and retirement villages. In these
cases, it will be recommended that
people travel on buses, but each
organisation will need to meet
their own evacuation procedures.
Rotorua district has 32,311
registered cars in the district
(Table 4); 32,479 including rental
cars and taxis, together with 260
buses and coaches. Assuming a
population of 64,473, the number
of cars would appear to be
adequate, assuming two people per
car. For those without a household
car, or without the opportunity
to travel with friends or relations,
they will need to rely on buses and
coaches. Measures must be taken
to ensure these are organised in
advance, with meeting points and
drivers prearranged.
Census 2001 states that
90.9% of households in the Bay
of Plenty region have access to
a motor vehicle. As there are
86,793 households in the Bay of
Plenty, there are therefore 7,899 households without
access. With an average household population (Bay of
Plenty region) of 2.6 persons, this will result in about
20,535 people in the region without access to a motor
vehicle. From these figures it appears that Rotorua has
~6,420 people without access to a motor vehicle, while
Kawerau District has ~939 people without access to a
motor vehicle. The assumption is made that most of the
7,359 people, from these key areas, will need public
transport (Table 5).
SECURITY OF EVACUATED AREA
The security of the evacuated area is intimately
linked with authority and responsibility. It is extremely
important that measures are taken to secure evacuated
areas, and that evacuees are aware that this will
be done. The security of the evacuated area is also
important to continue sustainability of lifelines in the
area, to encourage clean-up and return of evacuees after
Kawerau, with a population of almost 7,000, lies 20km northeast of
Tarawera Volcano (out of picture to the right). In the background Lake
Pupuwharu and Mt Edgecumbe. Photo: GNS Lloyd Homer.
the event. During many past evacuations, (eg. Rabaul
1994) looting and other negative socially destructive
actions have occurred, by individuals and groups and
this must be avoided at all costs.
RECOVERY
Initial destinations for evacuees are likely to be
Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Taupo. However,
many smaller destinations will receive evacuees, with
many people wishing to choose their own destination
because of relatives or friends. It is also possible that
some of the cities (eg. Tauranga and Taupo) could
need to be evacuated themselves and are therefore not
recommended as ideal final destination points.
Evacuees should be advised to evacuate further
than the ~100 km ‘unsafe’ radius from Tarawera
volcano (Fig.2). After initial destinations have been
Total number of
households
Access to a motor
vehicle (%)
Average numbers in
household
Calculated no.
people without
motor vehicles
If 60% people
evacuate
Rotorua 22,254 89.7 2.8 6,420 3,852
Kawerau 2313 86 2.9 939 563
Total 7,359
Table 5. Residents without access to a motor vehicle from key centres in the Bay of Plenty region (Census, 2001)
51
TEPHRA
June 2004