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Canterbury Earthquake Experience

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DescriptionThis video presents two stories of the Canterbury earthquake that occurred in New Zealand in February 2011. First James Thompson, emergency manager of Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management, tells the story of the disaster and the professional response of rescuers and emergency management. Then Lincoln University lecturer, Ann Brower, tells the human story of how it felt on the ground and measuring the human costs of the quake. This presentation is part of the 2014 Earthquake Insight Briefing which was held by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Washington DC, February 2014.PeopleAnn Brower | James ThompsonPersonAnn BrowerJames ThompsonKeywordsCanterbury earthquakesdisaster experiencerisk managementemergency managementcivil defenceDate19 February 2014SourceEarthquake Insight BriefingNotesAnn Brower: Ann is a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy in the Department of Environmental Management at Lincoln University, in Christchurch, New Zealand. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds Masters degrees in Forest Science from Yale University, and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Her specialty is environmental policy, especially as it relates to state-owned lands and natural resources in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Her theoretical interests lie in public policy -- at the intersection of property law, economics, and political science. She is the author of Who owns the high country? (Craig Potton Publishing, 2008), stimulating a national debate about the on-going South Island land reform that is transforming the landscapes of the Southern Alps. Borrowing from Wildavsky (1973), her book aims to uncover how great expectations in Wellington were dashed in Wanaka. She has published in numerous journals, including the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, Conservation Letters, and Land Economics.

Ann is an earthquake magnet. In California, she lived through the "Big One" in Los Angeles in 1994. In New Zealand, she works close to the September 4 epicentre, lives almost on top of the June 13 epicentre, and was the only survivor of the Number 3 bus crushed on February 22 by an unremarkable and unreinforced masonry building on Colombo Street. She broke a leg, a couple of hips, a corner of a spine, and a hand. If you value life and limb, do not follow her around.

James Thompson: James has been involved in Emergency Management since the mid 1990’s, initially as a volunteer in a specialist high angle rescue team and as a rescue trainer. In 2002 James trained as a USAR Technician and currently still volunteers in this role.

In 2004 James became the Canterbury Civil Defence and Emergency Management Groups’ Training and Operations Coordinator. In this role he introduced a consistent EOC training model to the Canterbury CDEM Group after receiving EOC training in British Columbia, Canada. This training has now been picked up by other CDEM Groups, Local Authorities and government agencies in New Zealand.

James has either been an Operations Manager or EOC/ECC manager for over seven activations including the two Canterbury earthquakes, the 2011 Nelson floods and the 2006 Canterbury Snow. In January 2011 James travelled to Queensland, Australia to assist with, on the ground, flood recovery with the New Zealand Response team.

In Mid 2012 James became the Team Leader of the Canterbury Regional Emergency Management Office sharing management responsibilities with the Group Controller.

James has a Diploma in Adult Education and Training from Canterbury University and is currently studying for a Post-Graduate Diploma in Emergency Management with Massey University.
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Canterbury Earthquake Experience