Be prepared, not scared
February is Tasman Natural Hazards Awareness Month, a crucial time to reflect on the hazards faced by our communities.
Recent events, such as the devastating tornado in Northland’s Mangawhai and the California wildfires, serve as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of these hazards. Locally, we’ve experienced these hazards too – the Upper Moutere tornado in April 2023, and the Pigeon Valley fire in February 2019.
These events stress the need for preparedness (where possible) and community resilience in the aftermath of a natural hazard event. For many natural hazards, land use planning can play a key role in risk reduction at the outset, to ensure that we build natural hazard and climate-resilient development in the right places.
Our natural hazards include coastal erosion, flooding, earthquakes, liquefaction, landslides, droughts, and wildfires, and a priority for us is increasing our knowledge about the potential threat they pose to landowners and communities.
Get to Know Your Natural Hazards
The Natural Hazards Awareness campaign will focus on our online resources that provide the latest information and data about the hazards we hold and how to prepare for them, including in the future a natural hazards map viewer.
Feedback from residents on the District’s natural hazards issues and options will open on Shape Tasman in March, supported in mid-April with a series of community drop-in sessions.