News and Events

The Kaikoura Earthquake and Tsunami: 14 November 2016 Post Event Report (National Emergency Management Agency response) outlines the Agency’s response to the Kaikoura earthquake and tsunami on 14 November 2016.

Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has given notice of an extension to the national transition period in Kaikōura and Hurunui Districts and the Wairau-Awatere ward of Marlborough District.

A longstanding agreement between Civil Defence Emergency Management authorities and national broadcasters has been renewed and strengthened.

The East Cape earthquake and tsunami: 2 September 2016 Post Event Report (National Emergency Management Agency response) outlines the Agency's response to the East Cape earthquake and tsunami on 2 September 2016.

Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says the implementation of a new nationwide channel for sending alerts about emergencies to mobile phones is on track to be up and running by the end of the year.

Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced $889,000 of funding grants to boost New Zealand’s resilience to natural hazards and their consequences.

Key presentations and documents from the 2016 National Lifelines Forum are now available to view and download.

Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has given notice for a National Transition Period for the Kaikoura, Hurunui and Marlborough Districts to assist with the recovery from the Hurunui/Kaikoura earthquake on 14 November 2016.

Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed the Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today.

The UN General Assembly has made 5 November World Tsunami Awareness Day with the first one being held this year. It’s a chance for all of us to find out more about tsunami and how to prepare for them.

The National Emergency Management Agency Business Plan 2016-2020 is now available.

Kiwi kids will be better prepared for emergencies thanks to a new teaching resource developed by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and EQC.

Making sure kids are prepared for when emergencies strike will be at the heart of Get Ready Week, which is held every year in recognition of the International Day for Natural Disaster (13 October).

The 2017/2018 Resilience Fund is open for applications and will close on 1 October 2016.

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye has announced the launch of a new campaign encouraging Kiwis to be better prepared for emergencies.

Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management National Operations Team Leader Jo Guard recently attended the International Observer Programme for Cascadia Rising – a major earthquake and tsunami exercise held in the US and Canada over the period 7-10 June 2016.

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that eight regions have been awarded funding grants from the 2016 Resilience Fund, an annual fund of $889,000 administered by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM).

CDEM Award winners were announced at the Ministerial Awards and Conference Dinner on Wednesday 1 June.

MCDEM has assessed the information about tonight's quake with the assistance of scientific advisors. Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will pose a threat to New Zealand.

The updated Tsunami Evacuation Zones: Directors’ Guideline for CDEM Groups [DGL 08/16] has been published.

The Ministry of Health has published advice for health practitioners, district health board emergency management staff and consumers on infant feeding in an emergency.

A new Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management report shows that civil defence organisations across the country are much better prepared to deliver for their communities today than they were three years ago.

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has published a new guideline on response planning. Response planning is the coordination of separate functions and support agencies into a cohesive, unified whole to achieve the Controller’s response objectives.

The Ministry has just released the new Guide to the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015 (the Guide). The Guide sets out the arrangements, roles, and responsibilities of agencies for the national management, or support to local management, of emergencies. The Guide incorporates the wording of the new National CDEM Plan 2015, which states the principles, arrangements, and frameworks that apply to the management of emergencies. The Guide supports this wording with further detail, diagrams, and operational information.

A proposed law change to help communities recover from small to moderate scale emergencies has started to make its way through Parliament. The Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Bill has been introduced to Parliament.

Improvements are being made to how welfare services are coordinated and delivered to communities when there is an emergency. The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has just released a new guideline governing how, when and where welfare services should be delivered in emergencies.

New Zealand is now better at planning for emergencies and supporting the public in them, with over 100 recommendations from the Independent Review of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Response to the Christchurch Earthquake now actioned

Initial results show that official sign-ups for New Zealand ShakeOut 2015 have beaten the 2012 national earthquake drill, with over 1.35 million Kiwis signed up this year.

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 & Emergency Management has cancelled the National Tsunami Warning (Marine and Beach Threat) issued yesterday after the earthquake near Chile. The National Warning no longer needs to be in place as the threat to New Zealand’s East Coast and Chatham Islands has largely passed. We expect that there may be some unusual water conditions for the next 24-36 hours and advise people to be cautious and use discretion before going into the water or going out in small board. We expect things to be back to normal within that 36 hour period.

A tsunami warning marine and beach threat has been issued for East Cape, Chatham Islands, Coromandel and Banks Peninsula. Overnight (17.09.15) people in these areas should follow this advice: 1. Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, including boating activities) 2. Stay off beaches and shore areas 3. Do not go sightseeing 4. Share this information with family, neighbours and friends 5. Listen to the radio and/or TV for updates 6. Follow instructions of local civil defence authorities.

The Earthquake Commission has commissioned research that looks at the tsunami risks facing New Zealand.

The Ministry publishes e-Bulletin eight months a year to provide short, quick updates about civil defence emergency management (CDEM) and related information. It is for people in the CDEM sector and those with an interest in CDEM. This edition features a foreword from the Director, the Storm event and Whanganui River Flood of June 2015; Canterbury Group Annual Welfare Forum, Clutha Kids get Clued-Up; Papamoa College students prepare for ShakeOut; CIMS 4 Training for Bay of Plenty and Nelson-Tasman and more.

The Manwatu-Whanganui and Taranaki regions are now in the recovery phase following the heavy rain and flooding event of June 2015.

The Ministry publishes e-Bulletin eight months a year to provide short, quick updates about civil defence emergency management (CDEM) and related information. It is for people in the CDEM sector and those with an interest in CDEM. This edition features a foreword from the Director, June 2015 floods, the New Zealand Symposium on Disaster Risk Reduction, New Zealand ShakeOut update, Southland utilises social media for snow warnings, Youth Looking Beyond Disaster and more.

The draft Revised Guide to the National CDEM Plan 2015 (the revised Guide) outlines New Zealand’s arrangements for the national management or support for local management of emergencies.

Impact is published quarterly by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management on topics of interest to the civil defence emergency management sector. The aim is to share information and lessons, and to celebrate successes. This edition features a foreword from the Director; articles about flooding in the Wellington region, Otago helps to strengthen Indonesian resilience, Earthquakes fuel public interest, New Zealand ShakeOut, CDEM Controllers Development Programme and more.

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.

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has published updated advice about how to prepare for earthquakes.

More than 250,000 people have already registered to take part in New Zealand ShakeOut, our national earthquake drill.

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye announced today (Friday 5 June 2015) that Cabinet approved the new National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan, which was given formal approval by the Governor General on 2 June 2015 and made as Order in Council.

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 Ministry publishes e-Bulletin eight months a year to provide short, quick updates about civil defence emergency management (CDEM) and related information. It is for people in the CDEM sector and those with an interest in CDEM. This edition features a foreword from the Director, Wanaka earthquake tests QLDC systems, Tangimoana flood response put to the test, Bay of Plenty CDEM support oil spill response, Southland Lifeline Utilities Map viewer and more.

The Ministry publishes e-Bulletin eight months a year to provide short, quick updates about civil defence emergency management (CDEM) and related information. It is for people in the CDEM sector and those with an interest in CDEM. This edition features a foreword from the Director, CDEM Group responses' to Cyclone Pam; Thanking those who Volunteer and Service; National Crisis Management Centre review, Neighbours Day Aotearoa celebrated, and more.

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.

Impact is published quarterly by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management on topics of interest to the civil defence emergency management sector. The aim is to share information and lessons, and to celebrate successes. This edition features a foreword from the Minister; articles about flooding in Westport, Taranaki targets whanau resilience, new CDEM website for Hawke's Bay, Auckland CDEM helps swot Auckland fruit fly and more.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is taking urgent action to eradicate the fruit fly population discovered in Auckland and is confident of success given the resources and expertise at its disposal.

The Ministry publishes e-Bulletin eight months a year to provide short, quick updates about civil defence emergency management (CDEM) and related information. It is for people in the CDEM sector and those with an interest in CDEM. This edition features a foreword from the Director, the NZ response to the Tongan volcanic eruption, Southland volunteer coordination, a mobile Emergency Operations Centre for Auckland and more.