In an emergency, you can be stuck at work, without transport home. Make a personal workplace emergency plan so you know who to contact at work and have a plan to get home safely.
Emergencies can happen anytime, including during business hours. You can’t predict when they will happen, but you can take actions to make your business more prepared.
Identify the risks to your business and staff
Find out what the risks are and how they can impact on your business. Risks include natural hazards, health emergencies and utility failures. If you have staff, talk to them about the risks they think are most relevant to your business.
Make an emergency plan for your business
Businesses have an obligation to be prepared for an emergency. In most cases we can’t predict when an emergency will happen. But we can make plans to make sure our staff are safe, our financial and personal losses are reduced and we are able to get back to business as soon as possible.
Your plan should include the following.
* Emergency procedures for fire, earthquake, tsunami and other hazards.
* Assembly points, wardens and first aid training.
* How to contact staff, suppliers, clients and insurance providers.
* Alternative arrangements if you are unable to access your premises, files, etc.
Talk to your disabled staff. Find out what support they might need if there's an emergency. Also think about how you might need to help any visitors who have a disability.
Look after your staff
As an employer, you have a duty of care to your staff, including caring for them during and after emergencies. Start by involving your staff in identifying risks and making an emergency plan. Talk to them about what they, and their whānau, would need to get through an emergency.
Make sure your staff have personal workplace emergency plans so they know who to contact at work in an emergency and have a plan to get home safely. Provide supplies for your staff
In an emergency, your staff may be stuck at work or unable to take transport home for a day or more. Make sure you have enough supplies for everyone onsite for five days. This should include for visitors too.
Rural communities, businesses and individuals need to adapt and build resilience to emergencies. Your animals are your responsibility. You need to include them in your emergency planning and preparation. Failing to plan for them puts lives at risk.
Preparing animals for emergencies
If an emergency happened today, do you have a plan I place to save yourself, your family, and your animals? Learn how to prepare to ensure the welfare of your animals during a disaster, such as an earthquake or flood.
Include animals in your emergency plans
Your animals are your responsibility. You need to include them in your emergency planning and preparation. Prepare an emergency plan that covers the major disasters that could affect animals in your family, farm, or workplace.
Discuss your plan, record it, and practice it with your family and co-workers. Keep your plan somewhere it can be easily seen. In your household, this could be on the fridge or by the front door. In a farm or animal facility, this could be kept in a dairy shed, stable, or shearing shed.
The Ministry for Primary Industries has an extensive library of resources you can use, from checklists to planning guides.
Make sure your animals can be identified
During an emergency, you could become separated from your pets and farm animals. Make sure your animals can be easily identified so you can be reunited.
Pet identification tips
* Add an ID tag to your pet’s collar. Put as much information on the tag that will fit – your pet's name, your name, phone number, and your address.
* Make sure your pets are microchipped and registered.
* Dogs should be wearing their current registration tag.
* On relevant microchip databases, keep the information about you and the animal up to date. Include next of kin or someone outside your household.
NZ Companion Animal Register
Livestock and horse identification tips
* For livestock, ensure your National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) programme details are up-to-date.
* For large animals, like horses, add a tag to their halter, lead, or cover.
* Make sure horses are microchipped and registered.
Extra animal identification tips
* Store a current photograph of your pets and horses in a waterproof container. Include notes on any distinguishing features, name, sex, age, colour, and breed. Also include a photograph of you and your animals together to help prove ownership if you get separated.
* Save information online like microchip details, photographs, medical, veterinary, and contacts. For example, you could store it on Dropbox, a mobile phone, or an email account.
Plan for every type of emergency
* Fire: Plan how you will get your animals away from the fire zone and where you will go.
* Earthquake: Arrange who will check on your animals after an earthquake.
* Extreme weather: Know what to do if there's a storm coming or plan for dry conditions or droughts.
* Volcanic eruption: Consider how far away you need to get and where you will go.
* Floods and tsunamis: Decide how you and your animals will get to higher ground.
Prepare emergency kits for you and your animals
Check the kits regularly and keep them within easy reach. You might use the kits if help is not readily available, or before you can get to a veterinary clinic.
Have copies and backups of necessary documents and records.
You need 3 kits
1. Home emergency kit with enough supplies for 5 days.
2. Getaway emergency kit with supplies for moving yourself and your animals.
3. Animal first aid kit – put first aid supplies for your animals with your own kit.
First Aid Kit for Animals Checklist
Groups who can help
Federated Farmers may be able to provide advice if you need assistance with evacuating your livestock and finding a safe shelter place to contain them.
The Rural Support Trust are also a great source of information.
