Book of Abstracts 2013 - Australian and New Zealand Disaster ...

however, because of their exceptional nature, major accidents do not typically fit into a standard likelihood /
consequence matrix. Risk management needs to be ‘fit for purpose’ and emergency plans and emergency preparedness
are critical risk management elements. Many sites promote their emergency plans as control measures, but they may
not be suitable or appropriate. The introduction of harmonised WHS laws within Australia is changing compliance
obligations for facilities and compliance assessment obligations for regulators. Fire services authorities also have
obligations under this legislation to provide comments and recommendations to facilities, which must comply with
those recommendations (previously, facilities were only required to have due regard to any comment or
recommendation). Compliance now includes all aspects of emergency plan testing. Although not all Australian
jurisdictions have yet adopted the model laws, history has shown that regardless of the jurisdiction in which an
accident has occurred, the investigative team will typically explore relevant standards and laws, whether or not they
strictly apply. The Report of the Longford Royal Commission into the major accident at the Esso site in Victoria is an
example, canvassing multiple standards, codes of practice and legislation from within Australia and overseas. This
paper explores the risks and opportunities presented to both industry and fire services through the introduction of
Model WHS legislation, and how an open and collaborative approach can achieve regulatory compliance and improve
public safety.
Ms Kate Hill
Senior Lecturer,, Massey University
Co Author - Ms Hayley Squance, Programme Director / Lecturer, Massey University
Evaluation of the morbidity and mortality of animals post Canterbury earthquakes – A Pilot
study
Introduction Recent disasters such as floods, fires, snow storms, earthquakes and tsunamis, nationally and
internationally, have contributed to a significant number of human and animal deaths and injuries. These events have
highlighted the importance of the use of specific disaster risk and impact modelling to inform the mitigation tools such
as developing appropriate building regulations, facilitating decision making on urban developments and assisting with
response and recovery processes. Despite this development there has been little scientific research on how disasters
affect animals; therefore there is a lack of understanding on how to mitigate hazards and risks that could, in turn,
reduce morbidity and mortality of animals. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate how disasters affect the health of
animals immediately, short-term and medium-term post disaster using the recent Canterbury earthquakes as a case
study. The outputs from the study will be used in earthquake (along with other disasters) risk and impact models to
develop mitigation measures for animal welfare during disasters. Method This pilot study is a retrospective cohort
review of patient visits from 5 functional veterinary clinics within and surrounds of the worst affected areas in
Canterbury region. Data was collected from the 7 month period before the September 4th 2010 earthquake through to
January 2013. The veterinary visits were coded into 3 different categories: Gastro-intestinal, renal, & euthanasia. A
time-series analysis was performed on data collected. Results Pending, although through experience from past
disasters, the deployment of the Veterinary Emergency Response team to assess animal welfare during the February
earthquake and anecdotal evidence it is expected that there will be a significant mortality and morbidity rates amongst
production and companion animals. There is an expectation that there is an increase in the number of animals
presented to veterinary clinics with underlying diseases / conditions that were exacerbated by the earthquake events
in Christchurch due to environmental contamination along with crushing injuries sustained as a direct result of the
earthquake and subsequent after shocks.