Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan Council Maintain emergency response procedures in association with Activities Civil Defence. Maintain protection works and structures, including amenity improvements to existing structures. Education Promote community understanding of the effects of natural hazards and means to avoid, remedy or mitigate those effects. The location of structures and activities in areas where they will be damaged by or increase the effect of natural hazards is not sustainable. Future structures and activities should recognise the likely occurrence of the processes causing natural hazards and have a reduced reliance on protection works. Rules seek to avoid the future demand for protection works and to avoid the effects of known natural hazards. Information describing the frequency and extent of potential natural hazards is an essential precursor to the community taking appropriate measures to minimise the threat of danger or damage. Information will help the community to become more aware of the effects of their activities on the occurrence of natural hazards. The information on which the hazard areas have been defined in the Plan is contained in a report on ‘Natural Processes and Environmental Hazards in the Marlborough Sounds’ (Sutherland, Kirk and Bell - October 1992). This report contains reviews of the major hazard areas including diagrams and maps showing known problem areas. Council will continue to build on this knowledge and the Natural Hazards Register will provide an information base detailing the risk of natural hazard occurrence. A co-ordinated emergency response process will ensure that the community is warned about and is prepared for any known hazard occurrence. 16.5 Anticipated Environmental Results Implementation of the policies and methods for management relating to natural hazards will result in: • Future use and development of the resources of the Marlborough Sounds that occurs in sympathy with the natural processes operating in the area and risk from natural hazards is minimised; • Provision of information defining the risk to all sites from known natural hazards; • Implementation of emergency response procedures prior to events which avoids loss of life and mitigates damage to property and infrastructure; and • Protection of identified coastal waahi tapu and taonga. 16 - 4