eKourier Jan 2017

FEATURES

Shaken Not Stirred

N ew Zealand is becoming known as the earthquake country with the recent 7.8 earthquake in Kaikoura at 12.02am on 14th November. Kaikoura is located on the eastern side of the South Island in New Zealand and not far from Christchurch, where the last major earthquake took place in 2011/12, and even closer in the other direction to Wellington where we have a site. The South Island of New Zealand is basically made up of volcanic mountain ranges with coastal roads and the damage is expected to run into the billions of dollars. The extent of damage has impacted significantly on the major road networks that supply goods and services within the South Island.

You may have seen a world-wide viral photo of some dairy cows that survived a land slip. Well I am pleased to say that along with our famous sheep Dolly, these cows now have celebrity status living out there lives in greener pastures and will be entering the animal hall of fame instead of being destined for a dinner table! This is a reminder about the need for our customers to take out their own insurance cover over their goods in storage This earthquake was strong enough to be felt in Wellington where we have our site, so much so that less than 1km from our site, at least three large commercial buildings and one commercial car park building have become condemned and are in the process of being torn down. ‘ ‘

Fortunately our own Wellington site is well intact with only some minor cosmetic hairline fractures within the building and a minor drainage repair to fix. This is quite signifi- cant since a major fault line runs down the Hutt road that our site is located on. Had the earthquake been any closer or stronger, the result could have been very different. Our KSS Team are in good spirits. Ross, Jacque and Larry have grown up in Wellington and experienced many minor quakes over the years. However, this recent event has reminded the Team more than ever of the “Drop, Cover and Hold” action to stay safe in an earthquake. This is a reminder about the need for our customers to take out their own Insurance cover over their goods in storage. You never know when something like this will occur and the loss can be significant. A number of customers have enquired about the condition of the Wellington site and the topic of Insurance has been frequent. Andrew Kirkham Operations Manager NZ

9 Kennards Kourier Jan 2017