"The New Zealand psyche says 'it is not going to happen to them', but a bit of planning will go a long way to help during an emergency," Environment Southland's Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group co-ordinator Neil Cruickshank says.
Mr Cruickshank said the most important thing for farmers was to have a contingency plan in place in case of a civil emergency, whether it was a flood, earthquake, fire or heavy snow.
He said they needed go through the plan with staff and family so everyone knew what to do if there was an adverse event, especially if the owner was away from the property, or there was a manager in place.
The plan should include people and stock safety, where to move stock to, how to feed and water them, where to source relevant information, what to do about missed milkings, power and communication outages, damage, access and emergency contacts etc.
"Trying to deal with farming operations at the time of an emergency will put a lot of stress on farmers and farming operations," he said.
He said one of the biggest issues for farming families was to ensure they had an emergency power supply to run their homes and farming operations.
If there was a widespread power loss in the region, accessibility for contractors to make repairs could be an issue and the power might be out for some time.
He suggested investing in a petrol or diesel-fuelled generator.
"I would imagine most farmers would be quite well-equipped as far as feed, fuel and water goes," Mr Cruickshank said.
"Our best advice is to do a stock-take of essential power demands for both farm and house in an emergency.
"Do they need to keep the pump going for the bore?"
What about the fridge and freezer and the hot water cylinder in the house?
He said they should list those things they regarded as essential and talk to an electrician to see if they needed a small or large generator.
He said there was a small supply of large generators for use in Southland and farmers needed to consider whether they should get one for emergencies.
Mr Cruickshank said families should also ensure they had at least one telephone that worked from a jackpoint, rather than relying solely on cellphones.
They could not be charged if there was no power supply, although it was possible to charge them in the car.
"It is a good idea to have a back-up RT system," he said.
He said it was essential to have a reliable transistor to listen to emergency radio broadcasts, ensure there was a supply of petrol for the car and have filled water containers, an alternative means of cooking such as a barbecue and a supply of gas for it, as well as fuel for the fire.
It was important to know where the local Civil Defence meeting points were.
He said it was usually the local school, but that was not always the case.
Environment Southland and Otago Regional Council have flood warning systems in place.
Civil Defence information is available by phone, by website and radio broadcast.
"The farmer needs to know what that [information] means for his farm and what action he and his staff need to take."
He suggested farmers, especially those who had bought property in the past few years, found out exactly what risks they might be exposed to at their location.
In adverse events, the Southland Rural Support Trust may be able to assist if farmers are caught out, especially with stock management and feed issues.
Information about dealing with and planning for emergencies is available from the regional councils, www.civildefence.co.nz and DairyNZ.