Civil Defence and Emergency Management
The Waikato region is vulnerable to many natural, biological and technological disasters. Our region's next Civil Defence emergency could be an earthquake, flooding, fire, chemical spill or even an animal disease outbreak. We should all be prepared for 'when' rather than 'if', and know what to do in a major disaster. Explore this website to learn about Civil Defence and emergency management in the Waikato. Contact us if you want to know more.
On this page:
- Background
- The Waikato CDEM Group area
- The Waikato CDEM Group structure and members
- Co-ordinating Executive Group (CEG)
- Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs)
- Group Administering Authority and Emergency Management Office (EMO)
Background
Under the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act 2002, Civil Defence emergency management (CDEM) is a function and responsibility of regional, district and city councils. Consequently, all local authorities throughout New Zealand have joined together on a regional basis to form Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups (CDEM Groups). These groups, in partnership with emergency services and other organisations, are responsible for emergency management locally. There are 14 CDEM Groups throughout New Zealand.
The Waikato CDEM Group Area
The Waikato CDEM Group boundary is based largely on Environment Waikato's boundary, excluding the southern portions of the Franklin and Rotorua Districts that are within the Auckland and Bay of Plenty regions respectively. The CDEM Group area covers approximately 24,000 square kilometres of the central North Island extending from Mt Ruapehu to the south to Port Jackson (at the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula) to the north.
The Waikato CDEM Group structure and members
Eleven local authorities within the Waikato Region have joined together to establish a CDEM Group. Each Council is represented by one elected member who is the Mayor/Chair or delegated elected representative. The CDEM Group works together to minimise the potential effects of emergencies, prepare the people to respond to emergencies and help the community to recover as quickly as possible following an emergency. The members are:
- Environment Waikato
- Waikato District Council
- Waipa District Council
- Hamilton City Council
- Otorohanga District Council
- Waitomo District Council
- Taupo District Council
- Matamata Piako District Council
- Thames Coromandel District Council
- Hauraki District Council
- South Waikato District Council
Co-ordinating Executive Group (CEG)
The CEG provides senior executive direction and resources to develop and implement emergency management policies and plans. The CEG implements CDEM Group decisions and plays a key role in development of the CDEM Group Plan. Other members may be co-opted from time to time as required depending on the nature of the hazard and/or current issues. The CEG usually meets three weeks before each CDEM Group meeting, or more often as required.
The members of Waikato's CEG are the local authorities listed above, plus the following emergency services:
- NZ Police
- NZ Fire Service
- Waikato District Health Board
- St John Ambulance
Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs)
Due to the number of councils in the Waikato Region, population spread, topography and kinds of hazards, three Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs) have been established. These EOAs will manage all CDEM response and recovery activities for the Waikato CDEM Group at the local level.
The three Waikato Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs) are:
Thames Valley EOA Thames Coromandel, Hauraki and Matamata Piako District Councils, with the Emergency Operations Centre and administering authority at Thames Southern EOA Taupo and South Waikato District Councils, with the Emergency Operations Centre and administering authority at Taupo Waikato Valley EOA Hamilton City Council, Waikato, Waipa, Otorohanga and Waitomo District Councils, with the Emergency Operations Centre and administering authority at Hamilton 
The role of a local EOA administrating authority is to establish and resource an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and provide general administrative support. EOAs will also be involved in implementing hazard reduction parts of the CDEM Plan.
Every EOA has an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for centralised emergency management during a major emergency or incident. If the incident or emergency is too big for the local EOA level, a Group Emergency Operating Centre (GEOC) is established. The GEOC is managed by the Waikato Valley EOA on behalf of the Group. It is a stand-alone facility in the Hamilton City Council's Duke Street Works Depot.
Group administering authority and Emergency Management Office (EMO)
Environment Waikato acts as the administering authority for the Waikato CDEM Group. This role provides all administrative support to the CDEM Group and Co-ordinating Executive Group, including budget development and contract management.
An Emergency Management Office (EMO) has been established to manage development, implementation and maintenance of the CDEM Plan. The EMO has one full-time equivalent emergency manager and is based within the Natural Hazards and Emergency Management Programme at Environment Waikato. The CDEM Group has agreed that Environment Waikato will jointly manage the roles of administering authority and EMO on behalf of the Group.
The EMO will not have a direct role in emergency response.