Civil Defence
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The siren you hear in Kaikoura is a fire siren for local volunteer firefighters. It is not an evacuation siren.
Three steps to get ready for a disaster:
Emergencies and disasters can occur with little or no warning. Civil Defence starts with everyone getting prepared before anything happens - remember 'we are all Civil Defence'. In the days and weeks after a disaster, Civil Defence means everyone helping themselves, their families and communities to respond and recover as best they can.
1. Make a plan - 'Prepared not scared' is our motto in the Kaikoura District. We live in a wild and beautiful place but this means we need to be able to take care of ourselves and our community in an emergency. We may be isolated for days or weeks. Do your part to help so that we can help those who can’t help themselves on the day. You can make a plan by:
- Having a chat with your family and make sure everyone knows who's going to do what if there is a an earthquake, flood or tsunami.
- Making evacuation plans with neighbors and loved ones for extended family, especially those you don't live with and any elderly. You may not have time to pick people up so make sure someone else has it sorted.
- Completing a written plan ans share it with those you love - there's a great one right here
2. Know your Tsunami survival
- Know your evacuation route: use our interactive map to enter your address to see if you need to evacuate in a tsunami. Find out where it is safe to drive and where you need to walk. When you need to leave an evacuation zone as fast and safely as possible, you may not be able to take your car. Check the Tsunami evacuation map.
- Know when to evacuate: If you are near the coast and experience a strong earthquake that makes it hard to stand up or a weak rolling earthquake that lasts more than a minute, a sudden rise or fall in sea level, loud and unusual noises from sea, move immediately to the nearest high ground or as far inland as you can. Read more about natural tsunami warning signs
3. Know where you'll be able to get information after a disaster
In an emergency, the radio is your best source of information. Make sure you have a radio with fresh batteries or a self-generated power source (like a wind up radio) that picks up these stations where you live.
- Brian FM - 100.3
- National AM 567
- National FM 101.7
- Radio Live - 89.1
Useful links:
- Information about our recovery from the November 2016 earthquake
- More about Civil Defence in Kaikoura including volunteering, contact KD Scattergood
- Community information, Civil Defence training/meetings and other cool stuff check our Facebook Page
- Canterbury Civil Defence information visit the Canterbury CDEM website
