Media Release Archive

The tragic earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia is a reminder for New Zealanders of the importance of knowing how to stay safe in the event of a tsunami.

Civil Defence Emergency Management authorities and media are joining forces to ensure better access to emergency information for diverse communities.

Now is a good time to think ahead about how Cyclone Gita might impact you and your household, and plan accordingly, the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management is advising the public.

New Zealand’s new Emergency Mobile Alert system has been well received by New Zealanders, according to an independent survey commissioned by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM).

Improvements are being made to how welfare services are coordinated and delivered to communities when there is an emergency.

With just seven days to go until New Zealand’s national ShakeOut earthquake drill, a challenge is going out to every business and family in the country to sign up now to help them ‘get ready and get thru’ if there is a disaster.

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has activated the National Crisis Management Centre this morning to be ready to support regions affected by flooding.

Sign language interpreter Jeremy Borland is the latest prominent New Zealander to get behind New Zealand ShakeOut, our national earthquake drill, taking place at 9:15am, 15 October 2015.

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management today (Friday 12 June 2015) published Logistics in CDEM: Director's Guidelines for Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups. This will complete another recommendation from the Review of the CDEM Response to the 22 February 2011 Christchurch Earthquake.

More than 250,000 people have already registered to take part in New Zealand ShakeOut, our national earthquake drill. The target is to have at least 1.5 million people signed up for the ‘Drop, Cover and Hold’ drill at 9:15am, 15 October 2015.

With winter approaching the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management is using social media to help make sure New Zealanders are prepared. A series of tweets and facebook posts will be shared at the end of May to highlight the importance of learning about disasters, having a household emergency plan, having emergency survival items and preparing a getaway kit.

The warning system which provides coordinated tsunami threat information to countries throughout the Pacific marks its 50th anniversary next week. New Zealand will play a part in an International Tsunami Symposium in Hawaii on April 20 and 21 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS), and a subsequent meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) of the PTWS from 22-24 April.

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management is celebrating the start of the school year with a social media campaign to help kids understand and plan for disasters.

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management advises that while changes to Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre messages come into effect from today (Wednesday 1 October), the Ministry has been, and remains, the authoritative voice for tsunami advice in New Zealand.

EQC and Civil Defence are joining forces in the lead-up to the anniversary of the February 22 earthquake with a press and internet campaign urging people to protect what is most valuable to them – people and homes.

Statistics New Zealand survey results released today confirm the trend of more and more households being prepared for emergencies but, overall, the total is still low.