- Waitematā Local Board adopted its Emergency Readiness and Response Plan [6.6MB] in December 2024
- Four new Community Emergency Hub locations and three additional Civil Defence Centres have been added since the original plan was released
- The plan summary is currently being translated into six other languages
- The plan is available online and in libraries. Locals are encouraged to take a look and make their own household plan using the check list supplied
Since the Waitematā Local Board Emergency Readiness and Response Plan was published in late 2024, the local board, Auckland Council staff and community organisations have been working together to make progress on the plan.
Four new Community Emergency Hubs will be listed: Grey Lynn and Ponsonby Community Centres, Al-Masjid Al-Jamie (Ponsonby Mosque) and Holy Trinity Cathedral Parnell. These hubs are opened and led by community when they see a need, rather than official authorities. They are places where people can meet, support and help each other to look after their community during an emergency.
Three more Civil Defence Centres have also been added: Cox’s Bay Pavilion, Outhwaite Community Hall and The Cloud Event Centre. They are opened based on community need and are equipped to provide affected people with a safe place to shelter and access essential support services. Civil Defence Centres are managed by Auckland Emergency Management and staffed by central government agencies, welfare organisations and Auckland Council.
The local board has been collaborating with the City Centre Residents Group for input into additional Community Emergency Hub options in the central city area.
“We support and appreciate what the board’s doing,” says City Centre Residents Group chair, Noelene Buckland.
“The difference in the city centre is that we live in apartments – almost everybody, and they are completely different for civil defence management purposes than other houses.”
Noelene uses the International Convention Centre fire in 2019 as an example of why the city centre needs multiple pre-identified “safe spaces” if apartments need evacuating.
“The key issue for city centre residents is, if they have to evacuate, where do they go? Where are they safe? And I guess that depends on what kind of emergency it is.
“I think it’s an excellent plan, and we look forward to continuing our work with the board in terms of adding to the list of safe spaces in the city centre.”
An information sheet specific to apartment dwellers [334 KB] can also be found on the Auckland Emergency Management website.
As well as adding to the list of centres and hubs in Waitematā, Auckland Emergency Management led a simulation exercise on 2 May 2025 to test response capability of trained staff in the largest emergency relief and welfare exercise to be run in Auckland. Ellen Melville Centre was stood up as a Civil Defence Centre, and local community members were invited to attend to provide realistic training and inter-agency coordination.
Summary sheets for the Waitematā Local Board Emergency Readiness and Response Plan are currently being translated into Te Reo Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Hindi, Simplified Chinese and Korean, and will be shared with community groups and made available on the Auckland Emergency Management website and in libraries.
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