Civil Defence

Welcome to the Civil Defence Section of the Timaru District Council's Website

Civil Defence - Siren Testing

The Timaru District Council Public Alerting Siren System is now tested the First Wednesday of every month at 10:45am.

Why Have Civil Defence

Why have it?

In New Zealand we are constantly exposed to the risk of disaster. These risks present themselves in a variety of different forms. Floods, earthquakes, storms, tsunami and technological disasters affect communities in New Zealand every year.

The Honourable Geoffrey Palmer summed it up when he said:

It sometimes does us a power of good to remind ourselves that we live on two volcanic rocks where two tectonic plates meet in a somewhat lonely stretch of windswept ocean just above the Roaring Forties. If you want drama you've come to the right place.

When emergencies occur on a scale too great to be dealt with by the emergency services in the normal way, then a Civil Defence organisation is needed.

How did it all begin?

Sir Winston Churchill once said:

The need for an effective system of Civil Defence is surely beyond dispute. It presents itself today in its noblest aspect - namely the Christian duty to help fellow mortals in distress. Rescue, salvage and ambulance work have been the core of Civil Defence and no city, nor family, nor any honourable man or woman, can repudiate this duty and accept from others, help which they are not prepared to fit themselves to render in return.

In New Zealand, Civil Defence had its beginnings as a result of the 1929 Murchison earthquake and 1931 Napier earthquake. The passage of the Public Safety Conservation Act in 1932 was in part a response to the difficulties that were experienced in responding to those two large earthquakes.

In 1939 the "Emergency Precautions Scheme" (EPS) was designed to meet emergency conditions arising from enemy attack, epidemics, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Many local authorities undertook enlistment drives, urging women and men not liable to military call up to become involved.

Civil Defence - Be Prepared

Prepare for emergencies before they happen. On this page you will find information, documents and links to other sites which will assist you in preparing and planning for emergencies.

Why Plan?

We can either sit back and wait for something bad to happen to us or we can think about the possibility and reduce the effects of the emergency when it does occur.

You plan all the time now. For example, when you drive a car or ride a bicycle you plan the route. You plan for mishaps by wearing a safety belt or a cycle helmet.

It makes good sense to plan for emergencies too. We should plan for them to occur when we are at home, work or school.

Civil Defence - Links

These websites may be of interest to you:

Civil Defence - Events

Information on current or past (2010 onwards) Civil Defence events can be found here.

Civil Defence - Hazards

It is important to know about the hazards which could affect our communities. The more we know about them the better we can plan for them causing an emergency:

Earthquakes
Flooding
Storms
Tsunami
Manmade/Technological

Earthquakes

You know what they say, "When you want to know something, go to the expert!" That is why you should visit these sites to learn all about earthquakes: www.gns.cri.nz - www.quaketrackers.ac.nz

Earthquakes present the most significant hazard to South Canterbury as well as other parts of New Zealand. We do not experience them very frequently but they have the most capacity to cause widespread damage.

Of all the earthquake sources that can affect Canterbury the Alpine Fault is the most studied. It is capable of generating a very large earthquake which will affect much of the South Island. It will produce the strongest earth shaking experienced in South Canterbury since European settlement.
Of course, there are other known fault lines in South Canterbury (and probably some we do not know about). Earthquakes are a very real hazard and their occurrence must be planned for.

Civil Defence - Volunteers

Civil Defence relies heavily on volunteers. Remember Civil Defence usually swings into action when the professional emergency services are unable to cope with the size of the event. Given that, it is up to trained volunteers to assist where they can. This could include organisations such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, Order of St John, service clubs, church groups etc. Some of these organisations perform specialised functions. For example, Red Cross has a national agreement to cloth people, and Salvation Army to feed people.

Civil Defence trains its own volunteers too. They are trained to work in all kinds of areas, from the "hands on" level, up to management. The work covers: