Civil Defence workshop first of its kind

Published: 17 March 2017

Last Updated: 20 March 2017

If a disaster occurs in Napier, do you know what to do?

Pukemokimoki Marae is hosting civil defence workshops to help people with their emergency planning on 30 March.

Napier Emergency Management Officer Marcus Hayes-Jones will lead the workshops, which will run between 12 noon and 1.30pm, and 6 to 7.30pm. It is believed to be the first time workshops of this kind have been held in the area.

Everybody needs to think about how they handle themselves in an emergency situation, and remember the elderly and the vulnerable will need help too, says Phil Rowden, Community Sergeant for Eastern Suburbs Napier.

“We need to make sure people keep safe, and if in the course of our discussions we find there are shortfalls, what can emergency services do about it? We need to think, as a community, about what we do to be prepared.”

The workshops will cover the types of hazards in Hawke’s Bay, what the impacts are and what people need to do in an emergency. The key idea behind the workshops is to encourage people to make a plan – do they need an emergency kit and what do they need to put in it, if they have to evacuate, where will they go, and so on, says Mr Hayes-Jones.

The “long OR strong, get gone” message underpins all types of emergency plan. We should all know what to do in the event of an emergency, and not wait for an official to tell us what to do.”

If you would like to attend either the 12 noon to 1.30pm, or 6pm to 7.30pm workshop, please register your interest by emailing communityservices@napier.govt.nz by Tuesday 28 March.

For more information about emergency planning, go to www.hbemergency.govt.nz

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