On alert – the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre

Go behind the scenes at the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre, where a team of analysts are on alert 24/7 for earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis and landslides. What happens when a natural disaster strikes?

It could be the headquarters for a rocket launch, or the control centre for a highly coordinated operation. One wall is full of large monitors, information updating in real time. Cameras, maps of the Pacific, incoming streams of data. A room that never sleeps, that's always on alert.

Follow Our Changing World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRADIO, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic or wherever you listen to your podcasts

24/7 operation

This is the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre (NGMC). Based at GNS Science in Lower Hutt in Wellington, it's part of GeoNet - the programme tasked with New Zealand's geohazard monitoring and response, operated in partnership with Toka Tū Ake EQC, Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand and GNS Science

Kimberly Presow has worked here for five years, since this new 24/7 version of the centre opened in 2018. She's a shift leader now, responsible for one of the teams of geohazard analysts that constantly scan the monitors for any changes that might indicate a significant geohazard event.

Four main geohazards

While keeping an eye out for earthquakes is the bread and butter of the NGMC, they are also on alert for three other geohazards: landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity. A network of seismometers, underwater pressure sensors, coastal gauges, cameras and international monitoring stations constantly feed data into this room, where the geohazard analysts are wary to any changes in the patterns.

A pager will sound for anything greater than a magnitude six earthquake, but the geohazard analysts will be on alert for any change they see in the incoming data. And once something is identified, they will work quickly to assess and update the information, sometimes correcting errors in the automatic system - which may, for example, see one earthquake when there were two.

Coordinating the response

When a large event occurs the NGMC goes into response mode.

The analysts alert civil defence, and the on-call duty scientist will be looped in to give their assessment. From there, depending on the scale of the hazard, an entire panel of expert scientists might be assembled. In the meantime, the incoming data is being constantly assessed and updated, to fine-tune the information about the location, scale and repercussions of the event, to further inform civil defence. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details