Civil Defence in Hurunui

A picture of the Hurunui Civil Defence operations room.

Civil Defence and Emergency Management Responsibilities

The Hurunui District Council has the responsibility of:

Preparing the Hurunui community to respond as individuals and as a community to disasters by making detailed plans, conducting awareness programmes, training and exercising volunteers, and providing support coordination training for those community groups that will have roles in the event of a major disaster.

Civil Defence role in an emergency

Civil Defence is purely an administrative organisation that facilitates emergency work in times of disasters. They do not physically carry out any rescue work - they are the planners.

The Hurunui District Council has one District HQ at Amberley, and Sector Headquarters at Cheviot, Hanmer Springs, Culverden and Hawarden. Sector posts are usually established at primary schools throughout the District which may also be used as welfare collection points.

During an emergency, the District HQ at Amberley can be contacted on 0800 155 180

For more information, outside of an emergency, please contact the Council on ph: 03 314 8816 or email cd@hurunui.govt.nz.

Red Cross role in an emergency

Red Cross (New Zealand) has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (Canterbury CDEM Group) to provide support during emergency management incidents. Hurunui District Council is a member of Canterbury CDEM Group and as such may call upon Red Cross support during a local emergency within the terms of the MOU. Red Cross will attempt to provide the agreed support where possible.

The likely support will involve Red Cross staff supporting a local CDEM welfare unit with registration processes for people who are evacuated, displaced or needing the services provided by the welfare unit. The welfare unit may still need to provide local volunteers to undertake registration responsibilities, and where possible Red Cross will supplement those staff.