Jose Borrero figures he has the best job in the world . . . and it just so happens it’s one that could potentially save the lives of many.

The Tairāwhiti-based coastal scientist and engineer has just completed mapping the entire area using the very latest topography (high resolution imagery of the land) and bathymetry (topography from under the water) available. That in turn creates a line to let people know how far they need to evacuate to should there be a tsunami warning.

“Using these two I can make a really accurate representation of the shape of the coastline which improves the predictions of potentially inundated areas in an extreme tsunami event,” he says.

Tairāwhiti Emergency Management group manager Ben Green has become known around the country as an innovator who is generous with his knowledge . . . and now that has been recognised across the Tasman too.

This month he received the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services national award for excellence. It’s an annual gong that is presented to an individual or organisation who are stand-outs in the emergency management sector.

Schools across the region are now better prepared to cope in an emergency thanks to the first tranche of emergency radios have been rolled out by Tairāwhiti Emergency Management.

Earth Sciences New Zealand earthquake geologist Dr Nicola Litchfield is delving into the past to help prepare Tairāwhiti communities for the future.

She’s recently spent time at Waihau Bay and Pouawa exploring coastal cliff exposures of uplifted beach deposits to see how often and how big earthquakes in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone or offshore faults have been, to better forecast what could come.