Sentinel Blog

A widely felt earthquake impacted central areas of the country last night. Sentinel notified subscribers of shaking at their subscribed location, immediately identifying if the level of measured shaking was significant, and what to do next. 

Yesterday marked the 11 year anniversary of an event that forever changed lives. At Canterbury Seismic Instruments we take a moment to reflect on those lives that were changed by the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. We consider those lost and those who lost, we thank those who worked (and continue to work) towards recovery, and we celebrate those who work toward better tools for resilience. This time every year is a reminder why we created the Sentinel Earthquake Resilience Service to enable use of more data in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. 

At 09:30am Thursday October 28th, organisations across New Zealand will run preparedness and response drills for earthquake and tsunami. ShakeOut takes place  to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake. Drop, Cover and Hold. You can also practise a tsunami hīkoi (evacuation) if you're in a coastal area.

M7.1 earthquake, off the east coast of the North Island.  Friday, March 5 2021 at 02:27 am

A milestone reminder of the importance of having a plan

Natural disasters – like earthquakes, floods or pandemics – can have massive, sometimes disastrous, impacts on businesses. For example, when the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes struck Canterbury, we weren't as ready as we should have been, and the impact was devastating. It begs the question: if the use of data and technology had been more widespread at the time, would it have lessened that impact?

Take the quiz now

A guide to keeping your business going and your employees safe

How to build a best practice co-ordinated incident management system.

It may come as somewhat of a surprise, but what we've learned here at Sentinel is that since the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes, Kiwi businesses and organisations are still not as prepared for them as they should be. This is true even of Canterbury businesses, who've been through significant seismic events.

New Zealand has a very shaky history. The last decade has seen significant seismic activity, ranging from barely noticeable to highly destructive. And the science tells us that it will continue on this way - meaning that everyone, from individuals to business owners to managers of large infrastructure, needs to be ready for future events.