Resources and publications
An executive view of responding to critical incidents
Responding to a major critical incident is always a challenge for any institution, however if effective planning, training and engagement has occurred with all key staff in advance, the response and subsequent recover can be considerably easier.
On September 4th, 2010, at 4:35am, testing of the worth of the University’s preparedness planning began with a 7.1 magnitude earthquake centred 30km west of the City of Christchurch. That event began a seismic sequence which has to date produced in excess of 11,000 aftershocks over a period of two years and which have challenged and changed the City and the University in ways even the best planning could not have accurately predicted.
Dr Rod Carr was appointed as Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury prior to the seismic activity. Dr Carr actively engaged and supported the emergency preparedness activity which had been developed before his arrival and further encouraged the Senior Management Team of the University to schedule time for appropriate training activity. In May 2011, following the most severe earthquake which occurred on 22 February 2011, Dr Carr shared his thoughts about the key issues he considers important from an executive viewpoint in the following video interview.
- How to be prepared at work (Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management website)
- Get ready, get through website
