The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has clarified comments made after Thursday night's magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Te Anau, explaining that New Zealand is among the world's most exposed countries to natural hazards rather than one of the world's "most dangerous" nations.
According to a report by Stuff, the clarification came after NEMA director of Civil Defence Management John Price said New Zealand was "the second most dangerous country in the world" while discussing the country's earthquake risks following the South Island quake.
The remark prompted questions from the public, leading NEMA to explain that the statement referred to the country's exposure to natural hazards rather than general safety.
In a statement, a NEMA spokesperson said: “What we can say is that Aotearoa New Zealand’s exposure to natural hazards is among the highest in the world, given our position on a major plate boundary,” as quoted by Stuff.
The agency said Price had been referring to a 2018 assessment by Lloyd's of London, which ranked New Zealand as the country with the second-highest expected annual losses from natural disasters, behind Bangladesh.
According to NEMA: “Price was referring to a Lloyds of London study, where New Zealand was identified as the country with the second-highest annualised rate of losses from natural hazards behind Bangladesh,” Stuff has quoted.
The report ranked New Zealand as the second-most "exposed" nation to natural catastrophe losses, with expected annual losses of 0.7% of national output. However, it also noted: “However, its high insurance penetration levels mean it remains well protected,” as quoted by Stuff.
The report did not describe New Zealand as one of the world's "most dangerous" countries, as reported by Stuff.
Separately, global safety rankings such as the Global Peace Index consistently place New Zealand among the world's safest nations due to its low crime rates, political stability and lack of violent conflict.
Speaking to RNZ on Friday, Price said New Zealand's location meant residents needed to remain prepared for future natural disasters.
“We do live in a very vulnerable area,” he said, adding: “People need to be prepared,” as quoted by Stuff.
Price also highlighted the long-term risk posed by the Alpine Fault. “There's a 75% chance that it will go off in the next 50 years at a magnitude 8+”, Stuff has quoted.
He acknowledged that complete preparedness was impossible but stressed the importance of improving readiness. “you're never going to be 100% ready”.
“We need to move along that spectrum of readiness, and we need to be very mindful of it,” he said.
Price said disaster preparedness was a shared responsibility between government agencies and the public.
“We talk about the system being prepared,” he said, as quoted by Stuff.
“The system is 5.3 million people in New Zealand, of which NEMA is one of those that take key responsibility around the stewardship, and also being the operator, and also to ensure that we’re doing the right thing as a country,” Stuff has quoted.
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