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Exercise Rū Whenua Newsletter
November 2023
Welcome to the November issue of the Exercise Rū Whenua 2024 update newsletter!
The focus of this edition is on understanding the Alpine Fault scenario that the exercise will be based on.
Remember the dates!
The exercise will be held over three days:
• 12 June 2024: Phase 1 - Initial impact (functional exercise)
• 26 June 2024: Phase 2 - Sustained response (tabletop exercise)
• 10 July 2024: Phase 3 - Transition to recovery (tabletop exercise)
What is the Alpine Fault?
The Alpine Fault is one of the largest sources of seismic, or earthquake, hazards in Aotearoa New Zealand. Historically, when this fault ruptures, it produces an earthquake of about magnitude 8.0.
While we can’t predict earthquakes, scientific research indicates there is a 75% probability of an Alpine fault earthquake occurring in the next 50 years, and there is a 4 out of 5 chance that it will be a magnitude 8+ event.
Geological evidence shows that the Alpine Fault has a regular history of producing large earthquakes. Over the last 8000 years, the Alpine Fault has ruptured 27 times. On average that’s every 300 years. The last significant quake on the Alpine Fault was in 1717.
The next severe earthquake on the Alpine Fault is likely to be within our lifetime or our children's. Such an event is expected to require a coordinated multi-agency national response and include international support.
Exercise Rū Whenua will be based on the South Island Alpine Fault Earthquake Response (SAFER) Framework, which is a key output of AF8, a project to improve knowledge of readiness for, and resilience to a magnitude 8+ earthquake on the Alpine Fault.
Why should your agency get involved?
Exercising is a core part of readiness and helps identify gaps and issues. The identified lessons are integrated into plans and procedures that improve our ability to respond to and recover from emergencies.
Using a realistic scenario developed by the AF8 Programme, Exercise Rū Whenua is a great opportunity to practise your agency’s arrangements for what would be a significant emergency response requiring coordination and support from across New Zealand.
For exercise planning purposes we are expecting Wellington to be disrupted but functional and not requiring the national response to be led out of an alternative location.
Challenging ourselves with Exercise Rū Whenua is one of the steps we need to undertake to identify gaps in our preparedness to improve future planning. Despite being based on an earthquake scenario, the exercise will also be an opportunity to test or practice some of the lessons identified following the response to the 2023 North Island Severe Weather Events.
General earthquake resources
There are many valuable earthquake resources that can help you to understand earthquakes and assist you in planning for, and participation in, Exercise Rū Whenua. Check out the following:
Watch this video from GNS Science explaining basic tectonic plate movement: Where two tectonic plates collide (youtube.com)
And take a look here for some more information about some of the types of hazards that are caused by earthquakes.
And don't forget to visit the Get Ready website to find out what to do before, during and after an emergency.
Exercise writing tips
A structured approach to exercise development and writing is important in this type of large, multi-agency exercise. Download the CDEM Exercises, Director's Guideline for Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups [DGL 010/19] for information about providing a common approach to exercise planning.
A suite of exercise development templates is also available for you to use to support your exercise development. Download them here.
Check out our webpage
If you haven't already seen it, the Exercise Rū Whenua Warning Order is now available on the NEMA webpage.
As other exercise documentation and material is developed it will be available on our website, so add the page to your favourites and check back regularly!
