Earthquake In Nz

[ozjen]

Just heard about the massive earthquake in New Zealand, hope everyone across there is okay, we are thinking of you all.

Aside from the aftershocks, they are apparently expecting a big storm too with high winds, hope they are wrong as NZ doesn't need anything more to cope with right now. Looters are aready in action too, I think they should be shot, how horriable can one be in such a situation than to steal from others that are already hurting.

[Lyla]

Oh, hope it's not too bad.

[Sue]

The earthquake was centred around Christchurch in the South Island. There is extensive damage to property and infrastructure. There are pictures and video at http://www.stuff.co.nz

[steve11]

Sad but how is this a canine related item?

[cavNrott]

Sad but how is this a canine related item?

It's in the 'News' section, not in general dog discussion.

Not everything on this forum is related to dogs.

[ozjen]

Sad but how is this a canine related item?

It's in the 'News' section, not in general dog discussion.

Not everything on this forum is related to dogs.

Plus plenty of NZ dog owners out there who will have been affected by this. All to often the effect on people with pets is forgotten when they are made homeless from natural disasters, tempory accomadation and evacuation centres do not usually allow for pets, putting many owners under extra stress regarding the welfare of their pets. So while it may not seem dog related when you look at the bigger picture it is.

[kiwioz]

Hi ozjen, I didn't see this I've had a thread going in OT. I am about 10 kms from the epicentre of the quake, has been a very strange weekend!!

There was an announcement put out by the SPCA earlier this afternoon about stray dogs and cats and what to do - I hope not too many pets have been hurt or lost

[steve11]

Sad but how is this a canine related item?

It's in the 'News' section, not in general dog discussion.

Not everything on this forum is related to dogs.

Fair enough but read what it says under the "in the news" forum heading. Its no skin off my nose either way, i honestly couldn't care less what people post up, but why not have an "off topic" section for people that just want to chat about general stuff thats not dog/animal related. Just an observation of the contradiction of what the "in the news" forum states it is about.

[fifi]

There is an off topic section, but you need to have a certain number of posts to view it.

fifi

[ozjen]

Hi ozjen, I didn't see this I've had a thread going in OT. I am about 10 kms from the epicentre of the quake, has been a very strange weekend!!

There was an announcement put out by the SPCA earlier this afternoon about stray dogs and cats and what to do - I hope not too many pets have been hurt or lost

Hi Kiwioz sorry about the late response haven't been on the computer much. I hope you didn't substain too much damage I have heard from friends that they are still getting lots of aftershocks so no one is getting alot of sleep and the animals are very unsettled. I hope all the pets that have run off find their way safely home and everyone over there stays safe.

[lanabanana]

Someone I chat with has lost her house unfortunately - realy sucks.

There have been a lot of quakes going up and down NZ...I hope it is not going to get an even bigger one.

[kiwioz]

Hi ozjen, I didn't see this I've had a thread going in OT. I am about 10 kms from the epicentre of the quake, has been a very strange weekend!!

There was an announcement put out by the SPCA earlier this afternoon about stray dogs and cats and what to do - I hope not too many pets have been hurt or lost

Hi Kiwioz sorry about the late response haven't been on the computer much. I hope you didn't substain too much damage I have heard from friends that they are still getting lots of aftershocks so no one is getting alot of sleep and the animals are very unsettled. I hope all the pets that have run off find their way safely home and everyone over there stays safe.

The aftershocks are settling a lot now which is great, today we haven't had one since 11.40am! My dogs thankfully haven't reacted much at all, though Finn has an ongoing problem related to epilepsy and he has had a number of small 'episodes' since the quake. No damage here I was incredibly lucky!

Some friends I know have had to sedate their dogs, but I haven't heard any bad stories of pets being lost, though a lot of cats did disappear for a few days. There have been a few ads and articles about getting animals properly cared for while houses are uninhabitable, hopefully people are thinking of their animals

Lana we've been having heaps of aftershocks but that is very normal, the chances of another big one are so miniscule - particularly down here.

[Mila's Mum]

recommendations to enhance companion animal emergency management in New Zealand

http://disasters.massey.ac.nz/pubs/misc/Re...nimal_EM-NZ.pdf

Below are some passages from this report

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States of America. In its wake, it left

US$110 billion in damage and 1,836 people dead making it the third deadliest disaster in US history (Kurpis,

2009). This disaster also highlighted the importance of companion animal emergency management with

over 50,000 pets being left behind during the evacuation of New Orleans and 80-90% of these pets

perishing. What was anticipated to be over within a few days turned into a disaster beyond comprehension

and triggered the largest animal rescue operation in US history – an operation that rescued approximately

15,000 pets supported by some 5,000 volunteers (Shiley, 2006). Following Katrina, in reaction to public

outcry over the thousands of pets that died the Senate passed, by a landslide 349 to 24 vote, the Pet

Evacuation & Transportation Standards (PETS) Act 2006, which included the requirement for local and state

emergency management agencies to have companion animal emergency management measures in place.

In contrast, New Zealand has very few mechanisms to protect companion animals during a disaster. In jest,

some emergency managers believe shooting pets is the solution. But with no funding or evidence based

advice available to emergency managers and animal care professionals the opportunity to protect

companion animals and by doing so, protecting the human population is lost or simply put in the too hard

basket.

This report has been developed to act as a catalyst to encourage dialogue between emergency

management actors and support the development of tools and guidelines that will enhance New Zealand’s

approach to companion animal emergency management. It has been compiled with the assistance of

international and domestic subject matter experts and over 150 references have been reviewed as part of

its compilation. Aimed at both emergency managers and animal care professionals, this report provides 60

recommendations for national and local authorities to consider.

Whether emergency managers have a liking of companion animals or not, the reality is that failure to

protect companion animals during an emergency actually puts human life at risk and there is substantial

research to support this reasoning – whereas there is no evidence found to support further inaction.

The importance of the human-animal bond should not be under estimated. Following Hurricane Katrina

(2005), people were just as likely to suffer from depression from losing their pet as they did losing their

home (Hunt, Al-Awadi, et al., 2008). Research has clearly identified the negative impacts of pet loss,

especially during traumatic times such as in a disaster. Pets are treated as members of the family and pet

owners often experience negative psychological impacts following the loss of their pet (Edmonds & Cutter,

2008; Gerwolls & Labott, 1994; Hall, Ng, et al., 2004; Heath, 1999b; Hunt, Al-Awadi, et al., 2008; Leonard &

Scammon, 2007; Lockwood, 1995; Mort, Convery, et al., 2008; Orr, 2005). In 2010, an online survey of pet

owners living in Wellington and Taranaki (n=92), over 63% of respondents identified their pet as an

important psychosocial coping mechanism (Glassey). Social services need to understand the importance of

ensuring pets are evacuated and accessible for disaster victims.

During Hurricane Katrina, one of the reasons why emergency service officials refused to take pets was that

they were operating inflatable rescue boats and feared that the animals could bite or scratch the vessel and

thereby place themselves and evacuation operations at risk (Anderson & Anderson, 2006).

During Hurricane Katrina, “despite pleas from dog owners in writing scrawled across the walls of a middle

school, fourteen dogs, left by their owners in hopes of returning to them, were slaughtered, shot in the

body cavity, forcing the dogs to suffer a prolonged death. All were found dead at Beauregard Middle School

in St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans”(Pet-Abuse.com, 2006). This action caused serious negative public

reaction as well as a criminal prosecution (Shiley, 2006). According to Glassey (2010) 59% of 92 surveyed

pet owners in Wellington and Taranaki, indicated that that emergency service officials should not be able to

destroy pets left behind in the evacuation zone, a further 22% were unsure, leaving only 19% in agreement

of shooting pets if required. Not only does shooting pets potentially create criminal liabilities, it also creates

significant political and media risks for emergency management officials and should not be considered

lightly.

Edited September 16, 2010 by Mila's Mum