Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

In the scale of things, as much as we'd like to think differently, mankind is puny and powerless in comparison with the forces of nature.

Again this week, we've seen a pretty big earthquake in the lower North Island. And I've just opened an email from Bay of Plenty Civil Defence advising of a severe weather warning issued for the Bay of Plenty region due to severe gale force winds expected as result of a deep low pressure weather system, which was formerly Cyclone June.

We cannot fight these forces of nature, and sometimes we receive precious little warning. What we can do is anticipate their occurrence, prepare for the impact of them, and mitigate their impacts. We are fortunate in New Zealand that we are relatively well positioned to respond to the forces of nature. We have a well organised civil defence network, which integrates our local authorities and emergency services and is responsive and even pro-active when advance notice can be given. For example, you can subscribe to receive email alerts at http://bopcivildefence.govt.nz/Emergency-Status

Local government also does a lot of planning – for example, Tauranga City Council is currently doing a lot of planning around tsunami risk and response. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council does a lot of flood modelling and maintains flood and drainage schemes to protect high value, productive land. Local Rotary service groups fundraise to purchase and stockpile Shelterboxes for use in emergency situations – and there are many other groups and networks prepared to respond, where required.

Extreme weather events provide our most regular brush with forces of nature; and the reality is we can expect more severe and more frequent extreme weather events as the cumulative impacts of man's activity change our weather patterns. We should all consider how well we, as individuals, are prepared to withstand these forces of nature – should they come our way.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579 5150.