Centralised hazard map portal for Hawke’s Bay

It’s now even easier to find out more about the natural hazards where you live and work, with the latest version of the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group hazard map portal.

The online portal, which was first launched in 2015, has been updated to include the latest hazard information for individual properties and the region, with an easier-to-read layout and navigation tabs.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Manager Ian Macdonald said the portal had been helping people make better risk-management decisions for the last four years.

“You name a hazard and we have it here in Hawke’s Bay, so we developed the hazard map portal for our communities to be better informed and prepared.

“With the latest improvements, it’s now easier to find out which natural hazards might affect the places where you live and work, and which hazards might affect Hawke’s Bay in the future, including hazard descriptions and ‘what can you do’ information.

“All you need to do is enter an address to find out everything we know about that property.”

Mr Macdonald said the portal provided natural hazard property reports free of charge, so people could check the hazard information for their current property, or a property they were considering buying or developing.

These reports did not replace Land Information Memorandums, which are the most comprehensive report available for a property, he said.

“Hazards are categorised so people can easily find earthquake fault lines, liquefaction-prone areas, coastal erosion, flood-risk zones and now landslide risks.

“There’s also a quick link to tsunami evacuation zones and boat safe distance maps, so everyone can see which zone they’re in and plan their tsunami evacuation route.”

Mr Macdonald said the hazard maps were based on the latest science and research reports, which could also be easily found in the portal.

“Providing our communities with accurate information on natural hazards is vital to reducing our long-term risk to emergency events.

“It allows people to make informed decisions based on the risks they face,” Mr Macdonald said.

“Councils and other organisations may hold more detailed localised hazard information than provided in the portal, so everyone should still make sure they carry out their own research and get expert advice to interpret the information.”

Visit the portal at www.hbhazards.co.nz 

3 July 2019

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