🌏 The West Coast is on the ShakeOut leaderboard! 🙌

We’re doing pretty well with sign-ups across the Coast, but let’s see if we can climb even higher! 💪

New Zealand ShakeOut is our national earthquake drill and tsunami hīkoi, and it’s a great reminder for everyone to know what to do when the ground starts shaking.

🏠 Households
🏫 Schools and early childhood centres
🏢 Businesses and organisations
👥 Community groups

Every sign-up counts, so get your whānau, workplace, school or organisation involved.

👉 Sign up for ShakeOut:
https://getready.govt.nz/involved/shakeout/sign-up

This year's ShakeOut day is 21 October at 1:30pm

Let’s keep the West Coast moving up that leaderboard! 🌊⛰️

** MEDIA RELEASE **

10 September 2026

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE COMING TO GREYMOUTH

Emergency management professionals, community leaders, iwi representatives, government agencies and resilience specialists will be in Greymouth later this month for the 2026 South Island Emergency Management Conference.

Th 30 September-1 October event, focused on the theme Preparing People and Places, will be the first time for many years West Coast Emergency Management (WCEM) has hosted the biennial conference.

Regional Manager West Coast Emergency Management Claire Brown says holding the conference on the Coast provides an opportunity to showcase the region and bring together diverse perspectives.

"Attending is a great opportunity to network and hear from a range of agencies and practitioners from around the country.

"We're expecting a wide range of attendees, all of whom play an important role in emergency management and helping communities prepare for and respond to emergencies."

Conference speakers include:

· Brad Olsen, Principal Economist at Infometrics, presenting A shift in economic focus amid uncertainty.

· Lucy Pink, one of the co-founders of Contented, exploring the opportunities and challenges AI presents for organisations and communities.

· Callum McKirdy, discussing When loud and clear doesn't work: communicating with those who think differently, an increasingly important topic for those working with diverse audiences.

· Dave Gawn of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with an update about national emergency management priorities and developments.

· Dr Douglas Sutherland and Janelle Mackie exploring how the sector can better support those on the frontline of emergency response.

The conference will also celebrate a major milestone for New Zealand's resilience sector, marking 10 years of Project AF8, the multi-agency programme established to improve preparedness for a future Alpine Fault earthquake.

If you're interested in attending there's more information on the conference website: https://au.entegy.events/siemc2026

–Ends–

Contact:

Claire Brown, Regional Manager WCEM 027 836 3975