Welfare Centre Staff
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Waitakere City Council is responsible for maintaining a civil defence readiness, response and recovery organisation to guard against the possible affects of a major natural (or man made)
disaster.
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Welfare Centre staff are involved in the running of Welfare Centres. These are facilities where people who have been evacuated from their homes go to obtain assistance. The roles Welfare Centre staff are trained in include:
To find out more about Welfare Centre staff or if you are interested in becoming involved please contact us. |
Information for Students
For some fun interactive pages on Civil Defence visit the following:
Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Federal Emergency Management Agency (USA)
Emergency Management Australia
Information for Teachers
Below are some links to web sites that have ideas, activities and information for teachers on Civil Defence.
If you would prefer to have a speaker, Civil Defence Officers are available to come and talk to classroom groups or assemblies. We also have the following videos available for classroom use:
- Be a Survivor (general information about being prepared for emergencies)
- Be Turtle Safe (information for younger children about earthquake safety)
- Volcanoes in New Zealand
- Footage of New Zealand disasters
- Footage of overseas disasters
If you would like help preparing a Civil Defence plan for your school, or would like to organise more than just a brief talk we are happy to discuss how we can help. Please contact us for more information.
Classroom ideas on the topic of Civil Defence
FEMA resources for teachers (USA)
Emergency Management Australia - Teacher resources
Information for release to parents about the schools Civil Defence procedures
Click here for an example of Wellington Girls College Civil Defence information for parents.
Planning for an Emergency
The Ministry of Education has produced some guidelines on Civil Defence planning for schools.
Information for Businesses
Emergency Management is recognised as an important issue for responsible employers. It encompasses safety requirements such as:
- building safety standards
- fire evacuation procedures
- occupational safety and health
- personal safety and security
Emergency Management also encompasses Business Continuity which is best described as an ability to continue functioning during and after an emergency. Business Continuity involves risk assessment, risk treatment and planning, to ensure your core functions can be maintained during an emergency. This is especially important for businesses which would have a major role to play in an emergency.
As a guideline all staff should:
- Know where the assembly area is for their building,
- Know the building evacuation routes,
- Attend a first aid course,
- Know where vital equipment is stored, and know how to use it (eg fire extinguishers, first aid kit etc).
Note: You will need to have 
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Wellington City Council's Guide for Businesses (Size
675K)
This document will assist you writing your emergency plans and procedures.
Ministry for the Environment - Guidelines for Hazardous facilities
(Size 603K)
This guide provides the basis for assessing hazardous facilities which require a resource
consent under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
Public Alert Tsunami Siren System
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| Residents in coastal locations are advised that a
scheduled test of the Tsunami Siren System will take place
at the above time and date. One minute of tests of the "Alert", "Evacuate" and "all clear" signals with a 15 second pause between each. |
The Public Alert Tsunami Siren System for Waitakere City is now operational. The practical completion of the system was concluded on Monday 7 April and culminates six months of development and installation since Council formally approved the system to go ahead.
The sirens are located at coastal locations on the east and west coast plus Huia and Little Huia and will be used to alert people in lower lying areas of any tsunami alert of warning for immediate evacuation purposes.
Regular annual tests will be conducted at midday on the Sunday of the commencing and finishing of Daylight Saving.
A special edition of the Waitakere City News has been distributed explaining the system in more detail and can be downloaded below. There is also a pamphlet available for download below. Hard copies of the pamphlet are also available from any Waitakere City library or by contacting us and requesting one to be posted out.
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Civil Defence Pamplet (Size 945K)
Special Edition of Waitakere News featuring the Siren System (Size 1042K)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy a Civil Defence kit?
Currently there are not any commercial Civil Defence kits available in Waitakere City. Most people find however that they have nearly all of the recommended items in their homes already. View a list of suggested items for a Civil Defence kit.
What is the most common emergency in Waitakere City?
Flooding is the most common emergency in Waitakere City and also the Auckland region.
How do I contact Waitakere City Civil Defence in an emergency?
To contact Waitakere City Civil Defence in an emergency call the
Council call centre. This number is manned 24 hours a day.
If you are injured, see fire or anything suspicious, or someone's life is in danger please dial 111.
Where is my closest Reporting Centre?
There are 15 Reporting Centres located throughout the City, which, in the event of a Civil Defence emergency, act as a filter of information for the main Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre. The Reporting Centres also act as the co-ordinating points for the local community.
Note: Not all Reporting Centres will be operational in an emergency, and they are not manned 24 hours a day. We advise listening to your radio during an emergency for instructions as to which one is nearest to you.
The reporting centres are:
- Bethells Fire Station
- Glen Eden Library
- Henderson Library
- Hobsonville Primary School
- Huia Fire Station
- Karekare Fire Station
- Laingholm Primary School
- Massey Community Centre
- New Lynn Service Centre
- Piha RSA
- Te Atatu Peninsula Library
- Titirangi Library
- Waitakere City Council Civic Centre
- Waitakere Fire Station
How do I become involved in Civil Defence?
Click here to learn more about becoming a Civil Defence volunteer.
How do I store water?
Bottled water is relatively inexpensive and available from most supermarkets but if you would like to bottle your own water take the link below for some bottling tips. View Hutt City Council's information about water storage.
How do I arrange for a Civil Defence speaker?
If you would like a Civil Defence speaker please contact us and ask to speak to someone in Civil Defence. We are happy to speak to school groups, community groups and businesses. The presentation usually lasts an hour but we can customise things to suit individual requests.
What is the Civil Defence warning signal?
The “Sting” is the official Civil Defence warning signal and is an annoying siren type noise that will be played on the radio and television to draw people's attention to an important announcement.
Listen to the Civil Defence warning signal (.wav file,
116kb).
Links
Hazard Information
- Auckland region hazards
- Natural hazards
- The GeoNet Project (Monitoring geological hazards in New Zealand)
- Meteorological Service (Severe weather forecasts)
- Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (satellite imagery of New Zealand cloud cover)
Emergency Services
Civil Defence Emergency Management
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