Have to evacuate Me whakatahi atu

In an emergency, some houses, streets and neighbourhoods may not be safe to stay in and you may have to leave home in a hurry.

If your street is evacuated where will you go? What will you take? What about assistance animals and pets? Do you have neighbours who might need your help? How far, long and fast can you travel without anyone else’s help?

Pack a grab bag

Have a grab bag ready for everyone in your household. It should have warm clothes, a bottle of water, snacks, copies of important documents, and photo ID. Remember any medications you may need. Keep your first aid kit, torch, radio and batteries, mobility devices and any other essential supplies somewhere you can grab them in a hurry.

Work out what supplies you need

Decide where you will go

Decide where you will go (and make sure everyone in your household knows, in case you’re not all together). Your evacuation place will probably be with friends or family, so make sure they know your plans.

Check your zone

If you live in a tsunami evacuation zone, make sure your evacuation place is outside of the zone.

Decide how you will evacuate 

Walk, run or cycle if you can. Especially if there is a tsunami. Driving can cause congestion and delay emergency services and people who need to drive from reaching safety. Think about what evacuation method is best for you. 

Practice and share your evacuation plan 

It is important to make the best evacuation plan you can. It’s better to have an imperfect plan than no plan at all. If you may need help evacuating, have written instructions that emergency services might need to know if they are evacuating you. 

Practice evacuating so that you can find out what is possible or not. Let people know your evacuation plan. Especially if you are relying on them. 

Don't forget your animals

If you have to leave home, take your assistance animals and pets with you. If it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for them. Make sure your evacuation place will take your pets. Or have contact details for kennels, catteries and pet friendly motels.