Natural Hazard &

Impact Essentials

Equip yourself with knowledge and skills to make an impactful difference and help reduce the impact of natural hazards on us.

Gain tools to evaluate and measure your efforts to help keep people safe.

Dates: Tuesday, 4 February – Thursday, 27 February

Commitment: 16 hours, with eight live sessions on Tuesdays & Thursdays for four weeks

Investment: $515+GST (includes all materials)

Spaces are now open for the first Natural Hazard & Impact Essentials of 2025!

What will you get?

  • ·

    Build Deep Knowledge
    Grow your understanding of New Zealand's natural hazards and how they can affect us.

  • ··

    Maximise Your Impact

    Learn risk-reduction strategies that truly make a difference.

  • ···

    Measure Your Success

    Gain tools to evaluate and measure your efforts to help keep people safe.

Who is it for?

Anyone working in risk management, emergency response, or natural hazards who wants to improve their knowledge and skills.

You may be a:

✔ Risk manager

✔ Emergency manager

✔ Government and local council staff

✔ Engineer

✔ Urban planner

It is really for anyone who wants to understand natural hazards and how to reduce their impacts on us better.

Course Breakdown

✔ Delve into essential concepts such as exposure, vulnerability, and risk, and apply these concepts to your geographical area.

✔ Explore many hazards in depth—from earthquakes and weather events to tsunamis and volcanic eruptions—covering science, warnings, and effective risk-reduction strategies.

✔ Learn to evaluate your impact, measure progress, and optimise your strategies for keeping communities safe.

Module 1 Natural Hazard Essentials

Delve into foundational concepts like exposure, vulnerability, risk, and apply these concepts to your geographical area.

Module 2 Earthquakes & Secondary Hazards

Explore the science behind earthquakes, aftershocks, liquefaction, and landslides, and the different ways these hazards impact us and what we can do to reduce our risk.

Module 3 Storms & Weather Hazards

Learn about storm systems, flood dynamics, and how to interpret weather warnings and forecasts, as well as effective mitigation measures.

Module 4 Tsunami

Gain insights into tsunami origins and types covering local, regional and distant sources, as well as different strategies to reduce loss of life and the impact of inundation on coastal areas.

Module 5 Volcanic Events

Examine volcanic hazards, signals of volcanic unrest, and the many volcanic processes that occur during an eruption. Learn how to manage the impact of volcanic events close to and far from a volcano.

Module 6 Risk Reduction

Pull everything together from what you have learned and asses where you can make the most difference from a multi-hazard perspective.

Module 7 Measuring Progress

Learn how to evaluate how to maximise your impact to help keep people safe and measure your efforts.

Module 8 Wrap-Up

Consolidate your learning, discuss real-world applications, and be ready to make an impact.

✔ By the end of the Natural Hazard & Impact Essentials course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of natural hazards, their impact, practical risk management and mitigation strategies, and you will have developed your own evaluation tool.

Investment

Invest in your personal growth and level up your hazard expertise with eight live sessions packed with actionable knowledge and access to recorded sessions.

$515 plus GST

You’ll gain knowledge and strategies you can immediately apply to improve your level of impact.

Get Ready for Practical Learning

  • Essentials & Foundations

    Establish a solid understanding of natural hazards and their impacts.

  • Targeted Hazard Focus

    Every session dives deep into a specific hazard, from tsunami to earthquakes.

  • Effective Risk Reduction

    Master the tools and strategies to maximise your impact to help keep people safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • This course is designed for emergency managers, risk professionals, and anyone involved in natural hazard preparedness, resilience, and response. It’s especially beneficial for those new to these fields or those seeking a refresher on essential hazard and impact knowledge in a New Zealand context.

  • The course covers core concepts of natural hazards, risks, and impacts specific to New Zealand. It includes in-depth sessions on earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, volcanic events, and landslides. Participants will learn to interpret hazard warnings, understand impact dynamics, and implement risk reduction and response strategies.

  • This is a four-week course featuring eight sessions, delivered twice a week. Each session focuses on essential terminology, hazard characteristics, impact assessment, and actionable mitigation strategies. Each two hour sessions is designed to be interactive, with tools you can apply in your role.

  • Unlike general courses, this one is tailored to the unique hazards and resilience needs of New Zealand, emphasizing regional context and locally relevant mitigation strategies. Participants engage with practical tools, including hazard bowties, and explore multi-hazard response strategies.

  • Participants will be able to evaluate risks, interpret hazard-specific warnings, and implement impactful risk reduction strategies. You’ll also develop a personal evaluation metric for measuring risk reduction within your role.

  • This course provides practical skills for interpreting hazards and making informed decisions in high-stakes situations. You’ll learn how to use warning systems effectively, communicate risks clearly, and implement strategies that reduce risk—making you a valuable asset in your organisation.

  • Yes, the course offers ongoing support. You’ll have access to instructors during sessions and opportunities for Q&A. You can also connect with other participants to discuss insights, challenges, and solutions relevant to your work.

  • Email kate@illuminate science to secure your spot! The next session starts on Tuesday, 19 November, so be sure to register soon.

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”