The Defense Forces hosts the Wellington seismic exercise, in which 19 countries participate

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Defense Force Commander Kevin Short on Tuesday to participants in Exercise Tempest Express.

The Defense Forces are conducting exercises with the militaries of 19 countries to train to respond to a major earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc in Wellington and Wayaraba.

The 10-day exercise, called Exercise Tempest Express, began on Tuesday and will involve the defense force, several government agencies, the Red Cross and officials from countries including the United States, Fiji, Japan, Mongolia and Nepal to work together in order to respond to a 7.5 magnitude quake.

“When a major disaster strikes, everything is prepared … You have to have planned in advance, so that people know how to act and can provide a life-saving emergency response,” said New Zealand Combined Forces Commander Admiral Jim Gilmore, with the current situation.

“Training with personnel from other countries builds relationships and improves coordination when military partners are called upon to respond.”

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According to the Defense Force, the tabletop exercises will require officials to tackle “real-life dilemmas” such as where to land military aircraft and dock ships, as infrastructure at Wellington Airport was damaged in the quake.

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Participants of the Tempest Express, a 10-day exercise taking place in Wellington this week.

Participants will also be given a tour of Wellington’s landscape and infrastructure.

Gilmore said the participation of countries with recent disaster experiences is invaluable. For example, Nepalese officials had experience working with military partners after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to their country in 2015.

The full list of countries participating in the exercise was: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vietnam. United State.

The New Zealand agencies involved will be: Red Cross, National Emergency Management Agency, Wellington Region Emergency Management Office, Police, GNS Science, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Search and Rescue, Departments of Transport and Defence, GEOINT New Zealand, Department of Business, Innovation and Employment and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade .

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