Some people did... well, they went to the shores to watch it and what else could happen if it was real but to be dragged away... ta dum ...
I live in Christchurch and as much as it was unlikely that it was going to hit our shores, I made the executive decision to be first out and first setup on safe ground. I treated this warning as my first practice. What was I going to do, how was going to make the decisions, how was I going to execute my decisions, and what was my rationale.
While all my colleagues went to work for the day, I set about completing all things urgent and then I packed up and took to higher ground in a great holiday home high in the hills. It was such a great night away. And did anyone notice... not really... all but two of my clients were advised and the rest, it was business as usual.
As soon as I got to high ground, I plugged my iPhone into my computer (forgot my vodem), I turned on internet tethering on my iPhone and I was connected. Business as usual.
So what did you do? Did you wait for Civil Defence or did you take responsibility for you and your family? Did you trust the reports?
So here is what I learned: Christchurch is not built for mass evacuations to higher ground; Civil Defence will spend the next 3-4 warning testing their processes; some people are thick; one needs to be prepared (I forgot dog food); one also needs to be able to make decisions.
And here is my rationale: If I am the first one out at warning 1 (whether it's likely or not), I will be set up and working again by the time an evacuation is advised. Its unlikely I'll need to work if there is an evacuation but if their is a regional evacuation, the rest of the world doesn't go away and of course, I'm probably going to be very useful.
So think about what you will do when a tsunami warning comes around again, be prepared and know that AdminCorp will be prepared.
Debra Clark
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