Kiwis to take part in world's biggest earthquake drill

New Zealand Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world's biggest earthquake drill on Thursday.

The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to be taken during an earthquake which is to drop, cover, hold, and to practise their tsunami evacuation if they are in a coastal area, reported Xinhua news agency.

"All of New Zealand is at risk of earthquakes and all of our coastline is at risk of tsunami. We can't predict when one will happen, or where we will be, but we can protect ourselves and our whanau by practising what to do," Henare said.

Henare stressed recent events have reinforced the importance of knowing what to do in an earthquake or when there is a tsunami threat.

"Since 2016, we've experienced one massive earthquake and two local source tsunami -- The Kaikoura earthquake and tsunami in November 2016, and the East Cape tsunami, two months prior in September 2016)."

"We've also learned even more about seismic risks such as the Alpine Fault, the Hikurangi Fault, and the Kermadec Trench."

"The ShakeOut drill will help make the Drop, Cover Hold actions second nature, while giving us a chance to practise our tsunami evacuation routes," Henare said.

Henare will be doing the drill Thursday at 13:30 p.m. local time with students at Evans Bay Intermediate School in Wellington.