Civil Defence Emergency Management
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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Waitakere City Public Alert
Tsunami
Siren System now operational.
For further details click on the image |
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What is Civil Defence Emergency Management?
Civil Defence Emergency Management is:
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The co-ordination of a wide range of groups and agencies, before, during and after an emergency to: |
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Help prevent loss of life, |
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Help the injured and relieve distress, |
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Help the community to recover from the emergency. |
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The community being prepared to survive in their homes for up to three days without assistance, other than from the people in their neighbourhood. |
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People helping people. |
Civil Defence usually becomes involved in an emergency when it is likely that evacuation of large numbers of people from their homes or places of assembly (work, school etc) is required, and/or massive disruption to the local infrastructure (roads, power, water, sewers etc) has occurred.
Legislation
The Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 determines Waitakere City Councils responsibilities for Civil Defence. Under this legislation Waitakere City Council is responsible for planning for, and responding to, a major emergency within the city.
This legislation also requires the Council to join a regional Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. This group has representatives from all the Councils in the region as well as the Police, Fire and Health services. This group must plan and prepare together to respond to an emergency that would affect the whole of the Auckland region.
Find more information on the regional Civil Defence Emergency Management
Group.
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An emergency is defined as any situation, that is too big for the Police, Fire and Ambulance services to manage, causes or may cause loss of life, injury, illness, distress or in any way endangers the safety of the public or property.
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Find out what could cause an emergency in Waitakere City.
If at any time you would like to speak to someone in Civil Defence about the information presented here, or you would like a speaker to come and talk to a group, please don't hesitate to
contact us.
What could cause an emergency?
The Auckland region as well as Waitakere City is at risk from a number of natural and man-made
hazards. Many of these hazards have the potential to cause loss of life or injury. Other possible effects
are:
- damage to homes and buildings,
- significant economic loss, and
- psychological stress.
The main hazards that could impact Waitakere City are:
- Cyclonic storm
- Major fire
- Flooding
- Landslips
- Hazardous substances spill
- Infrastructure failure (loss of key utilities such as power, water and
telecommunications)
Other hazards that could also impact the City are:
- Earthquake
- Volcanic eruption
- Tsunami
- Tornado
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An example of localised flooding
(Photo Source: FEMA)
A volcanic eruption similar to that produced by the
Auckland Volcanic Field (Photo Source: FEMA)
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Hazards in the Auckland region
Auckland Regional Council
Hazards throughout New Zealand
Natural hazards net
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)
What could happen in an emergency?
An emergency could cause some or all of the following:
- loss of power
- loss of telecommunications (phones, cell phones)
- loss of water supply
- loss of sewerage
- inability to drive on the roads (due to damage, blockage or loss of petrol supplies)
- businesses and shops being unable to open
- loss of income
- inability to go outside and being confined to a house or business premises
- evacuation of homes, schools and businesses
- damage to, or loss of, property
- injury or death
- disruption of normal routines
- damage to the environment
| During an emergency you may be required to stay indoors or to evacuate your home.
Please listen to your radio for information and advice. |
How can I prepare for an Emergency?
 In an emergency you may have to look after yourselves without any outside assistance for up to three days. This means that you will need to make sure you have enough food, water and supplies in your home to last for this period.
Below is a suggested list of supplies/items for your emergency survival kit:
- Bottled water - 3 litres per person per day
(view bottling tips from Hutt City Council
for bottling your own)
- Food – at least 3 days supply
- Important family documents (wills, insurance forms, passports)
- Warm clothing, raincoats and sturdy shoes
- Medication
- Baby supplies (if required)
- Hygiene needs (soap, wet wipes, toilet paper)
- First aid kit
- Torch and spare batteries
- Battery operated radio and spare batteries
- Alternative cooking source such as a gas camp stove or barbeque
- Can opener
- Disinfectant for cleaning
- Blankets
- Plastic bags
- Pet food
- Bucket
Note: For the following you will need to have 
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
An
Emergency Plan Could Save Your Life (Size 615K)
This booklet outlines the key things you can do to better
prepare you and your family in the event of a disaster.
For more information on preparing a home emergency plan
visit:
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