Family Whereabouts 

Knowing where your family is — and having a plan for each scenario — before an emergency happens 

During the day, most Hāwea families are spread across multiple locations. Adults working in Wānaka, children at Hāwea Flat School or MAC, teenagers out independently. An emergency during school and work hours is the most complex scenario. Make a written plan for it now, when you can think clearly. 

The school day scenario 

This is the situation that needs the most planning. On a typical weekday:

• One or both adults may be working in Wānaka — 16–18 km from home with multiple road barriers between them and Hāwea

• Children may be at Hāwea Flat School

• Older children may be at MAC in Wānaka

• Pets may be at home alone

After a major earthquake, every parent will have the same instinct — get to the children immediately. Everyone will attempt to use the same road at the same time. The bridge over the Clutha River and its on-ramps may be damaged or closed for safety checks. The dam crossing and Maungawera Hill will add further barriers. Roads will be gridlocked before the first bridge is even confirmed impassable.

Hāwea Flat School — what you need to know and what to do 

Hāwea Flat School is 6 km from Lake Hāwea township. On a normal road it is a short drive. After a major earthquake, roads may be damaged, blocked, or gridlocked with other parents doing the same thing at the same time.

The good news is that you do not need to rush.

The school is fully resourced for an emergency.

The school has activated its own emergency plan independently and is very well resourced. The school has:

• Three days of food supplies — children will be fed

• A functioning water supply and sewage system

• Starlink internet for communication

• Trained staff and leadership with direct personal experience of a major earthquake

• Excellent, well-practised emergency plans

Your young children are safe. They are with teachers they know and trust, with their friends, in a familiar environment. The school will look after them.

Do not rush to collect them.

Every parent's instinct after a major earthquake is to get to their children immediately. That instinct, multiplied across every family in the area, creates gridlock, puts parents at risk on damaged roads, and achieves nothing — because the children are already safe.

The school will hold children until a verified adult from your approved contact list arrives to collect them safely. No child will be released to anyone not on that list.

Your first job is to make home safe.

Before you collect your young children, go home first. Here is the sequence that makes sense:

1. Assess your house. Check for structural damage. Do not enter if it looks unsafe.

2. Take photos for insurance. Do this before you touch or move anything. Walk through every room and photograph damage in place. This is important for your insurance claim.

3. Check for gas and turn utilities off safely. If you smell gas, do not touch any light switches or power points — a spark can ignite gas. Open windows and doors and leave the house immediately. Do not re-enter until the smell has cleared.

Even if you cannot smell gas, turn off the LPG bottle valve at the tank outside as a precaution — this is simple, takes seconds, and eliminates the risk. Gas users in Hāwea have external 45kg LPG bottles; turn the valve clockwise to close.

If it is safe to do so, turn off the mains power at the switchboard before entering rooms with damage.

4. Make it safe for children. Clear broken glass from floors, hallways, and especially children's bedrooms. Check the hot water cylinder hasn't shifted. Move anything heavy that has fallen and blocks safe movement.

5. Prepare a space for the children to return to. Make their bedroom safe. Have water and food ready.

6. When you are calm and the house is ready — then go and collect your children. By car if roads allow. By bike or on foot if they don't. Six kilometres is a manageable distance.

There is a bike track between Lake Hāwea and Hāwea Flat School. During school holidays, consider walking or biking the route with your family so you know it well before you ever need to use it in an emergency. Knowing the route — how long it takes, where it goes, what the terrain is like — means you can do it calmly when it matters, not work it out under stress.

Your children will come home to a safe, prepared house rather than a chaotic one. That is better for them and better for you.

If you cannot get there at all — have a backup collector.

Make sure Hāwea Flat School has your emergency contacts up to date. Include at least one person who:

• Lives locally and can walk or cycle to the school if roads are impassable by car

• Is known to your child

• Is authorised on the school's contact list

After a major earthquake, ground-based mobile networks will be down or severely overloaded. You will not be able to phone or arrange anything with anyone using standard cellular. However, some New Zealand carriers now offer satellite-to-mobile texting on eligible phones and plans — this works when ground-based networks are down, as long as you are outside with an unobstructed view of the sky and your phone is charged. Check current eligibility on your carrier's website — compatible phones, plans, and providers change. If your family includes members who commute regularly between Hāwea and Wānaka for work or school, a satellite-capable phone plan is worth considering. Check current eligibility on your carrier's website — compatible phones and plans change.

This plan must exist before an event — written down, known by everyone involved. If your backup collector does not already know they are on your list, they are not your backup collector.

Older children from MAC are different

MAC is a Years 7–13 school. The youngest students are 11–12 years old; the oldest are 17–18. These are very different situations and need different plans.

Teenagers — particularly older students — are more mentally resilient than young children. They understand what has happened. They are better positioned to wait, to help, and to cope with uncertainty.

In practice, MAC will make judgement calls based on each student's situation. Students who are local to Wānaka and can safely get home will likely be released. Hāwea students are a different case — roads will be blocked and parents will not be able to get to the school. MAC will be aware of this.

Hāwea families should take two actions now — before an emergency, not on the day:

1. Register a named Wānaka emergency contact with MAC. Contact the MAC school office and put on record the name of someone in Wānaka who is authorised to collect or shelter your child if roads between Wānaka and Hāwea are blocked. This is not a MAC programme. This is something Hāwea families need to do proactively.

2. Set up a Buddy arrangement with a Wānaka student's family. Your MAC student almost certainly has friends who live in Wānaka. Talk to the parents of one of those friends — someone you know and trust. Agree that in an emergency, your child will go home with their friend's family until roads are passable.

Then register this with MAC. Both families should inform the school office that your child is authorised to leave with that family in an emergency.

This works because everyone already knows the plan:

• Your child knows where they are going — to their friend's house, with people they know

• The Wānaka family knows to expect your child

• MAC knows the arrangement is authorised

• You know your child is safe and with people you trust — without needing a phone call to confirm it

A 17 or 18-year-old who knows the address may be able to make their own way there independently. A younger student should be collected by the Wānaka parent. Agree which applies for your child's age and situation when you set up the arrangement — and make sure MAC knows which applies too.

This cannot be arranged on the day. Phones will not work. The plan must exist before an emergency — known by your child, known by the Wānaka family, and registered with MAC.

Your MAC student should know:

• Who their Wānaka emergency contact is

• Where that person lives — address, not just phone number

• Whether they have a Buddy family arrangement and what the plan is for their situation

• That phones will not work — this must be known before the event

When your teenager eventually gets home — once roads are passable — they will be in a position to contribute to household recovery. That is a genuine asset, not a problem to manage.

Children at Wānaka primary schools 

Some Hāwea children attend primary schools in Wānaka. There are three: Wānaka Primary School, Holy Family Catholic School, and Pembroke School.

The same reality applies as for MAC — roads between Wānaka and Hāwea will likely be blocked after a major earthquake and parents may not be able to reach the school quickly. Each school will have its own emergency and family reunification plan.

Contact your child's Wānaka school now and ask:

• What is their emergency plan?

• Where will children be held if parents cannot collect them?

• How do you register an alternative emergency contact in Wānaka who can collect your child if you cannot get there?

The same Buddy principle applies — a friend's family in Wānaka who is registered with the school and known to your child is your backup plan. It must be arranged before an emergency. Phones will not work on the day.

Pets 

If pets are at home during the day, include them in your plan. If you are stuck in Wānaka and cannot get home, your pet depends entirely on neighbours who stayed in Hāwea.

Two things to do now:

• Leave a notice on your door or front window saying pets are inside, what they are, and any basic care instructions — so a neighbour knows what they're dealing with

• Talk to a neighbour before an emergency. Ask if they would be willing to check on your pets if you cannot get home. This is the kind of neighbourly arrangement that works because it's agreed in advance, not assumed on the day

A neighbour who knows your pets, knows where your spare key is, and knows you are stuck in Wānaka can act. A neighbour who finds a notice on your door and doesn't know you cannot. 

See Animals in Emergencies for detailed guidance on pet emergency kits and the Hāwea lost-and-found pet location.

The parent stranded in Wānaka 

The same road barriers that prevent children getting home will prevent adults getting home from work. Plan for the possibility that you may need to stay in Wānaka for several days.

• Who in Wānaka will you stay with if you cannot get home?

• Does your family at home know this plan — without needing to phone you to find out?

• If both adults are stranded in Wānaka, who is responsible for the household and pets in Hāwea?

Remember: phones will not work. Your family at home needs to know this plan in advance, not learn it from a call that may never connect.

Your out-of-district contact 

When a major earthquake hits, local phone networks jam immediately. The most reliable way to eventually share your status is to contact someone well outside the district — Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin — who can relay messages between family members once any communication is possible.

Agree on this person now. Make sure every adult and older child knows their name and number, written on paper — not just saved in a phone that may be flat or damaged.

Weekends and school holidays 

On weekends and during school holidays the situation is different. Children are more likely to be at home or nearby, and the school-day gridlock scenario is less likely to apply.

However, family members may be at Treble Cone or Cardrona ski fields, visiting Wānaka, or away from home. The same principle applies: know where everyone is, and have a pre-arranged contact point so family members can account for each other without relying on phones.

A simple habit: when family members head out for the day, note where they are going and agree on a check-in point if communications go down.

Your complete family plan — write it down 

Every adult and older child should know this plan — and know where the written copy is. Phones will not work. This plan must function without any communication on the day.

• Where each person shelters if they cannot get home

• Who collects children from Hāwea Flat School — named in advance and on the school's contact list, able to get there on foot or by bike if needed

• For children at Wānaka primary schools — emergency contact registered with the school, Buddy family known to the child

• Who the MAC student's Wānaka emergency contact is — address known, registered with MAC before an event

• The Buddy arrangement for your MAC student — Wānaka friend's family, registered with MAC, your child knows the address

• Who you will stay with in Wānaka if you cannot get home — your family at home knows this without being told on the day

• An out-of-district contact everyone can eventually check in with

• Where to meet if you cannot get to the house

• What to do about pets — and which neighbour has agreed to help

• Key contacts and your home address written on paper — not just in a phone

Use the national household plan template at getready.govt.nz/prepared/household/make-a-plan as a starting point.

Last reviewed: May 2026.