On this page:
The Waikato CDEM Group area
Group structure and members
Coordinating Executive Group (CEG)
Emergency Operating Areas (EOA's)
Group administering authority and Emergency Management Office (EMO)
The Waikato CDEM Group Plan
Downloading the plan
Supporting documents
Under the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act 2002, 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 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 in the south to Port Jackson (at the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula) in the north.
Emergency Operating Areas contact details
You can find out the contact details for the EOAs by following the links below:
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 of the Waikato CDEM Group are:
Coordinating 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:
Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs)
Due to the number of councils in the Waikato region, population spread, topography and types of hazard, 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.
There are three Waikato Emergency Operating Areas (EOAs)
- 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 located in Hamilton.
The role of a local EOA administrating authority
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 the hazard reduction components of the CDEM Group 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 Group EOC is managed by Environment Waikato. It is based within the Environment Waikato Regional Council buildings in Hamilton.
Group administering authority and Emergency Management Office (EMO)
Environment Waikato is the administering authority for the Waikato CDEM Group. This role provides all administrative support to the CDEM Group and the Coordinating 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 Regional Hazards and Emergency Management Programme at Environment Waikato.
The Waikato CDEM Group Plan
The Waikato CDEM Group has developed a plan that sets the direction for all CDEM activities within the Waikato region. The CDEM Group Plan is a vital document that looks at the hazards we live with, tells us how to prepare and what to do if an emergency occurs, and outlines the agreed roles of local authorities and emergency services. The plan is effective for five years from May 2005, and will be formally reviewed every five years thereafter.
Review of the CDEM Group Plan
The CDEM Group Plan is currently under review and will be available for public consulatation during the first part of 2010.
About the Waikato CDEM Group Plan
The CDEM Group Plan is the foundation document for the Waikato CDEM Group. It covers the responsibilities of and the actions to be undertaken by the CDEM Group in order to fulfill the requirements of the CDEM Act 2002.
The CDEM Group Plan is based around the four Rs of emergency management:
| Reduction |
identifying and analysing risks to human life and property. |
| Readiness |
developing capabilities before an emergency occurs. |
| Response |
taking action immediately before, during or directly after an emergency. |
| Recovery |
initiating activities after impact, and extending them until the community's capacity for self-help is restored. |
The Waikato CDEM Group Plan also:
- outlines CDEM measures necessary to manage the hazards and risks
- states the objectives of CDEM activities and the relationship to the National CDEM Strategy and Plan
- allows for the provision of resources for the activities of Group members
- outlines arrangements for declaring states of emergency, and cooperation and coordination with other groups.
The CDEM Group Plan is primarily directed at those organisations and their personnel with a role in emergency management. It also seeks to assist the community in understanding the risks they face and the emergency management arrangements being implemented to manage emergencies.
The CDEM Group Plan therefore draws upon the planning, hazard, risk and emergency management expertise of local authorities, emergency services, lifelines and other agencies within its area when preparing for and responding to emergencies.
Download the Waikato CDEM Group Plan
The Waikato CDEM Group Plan has been structured into four key parts, as follows:
Part 1 - Introduction: outlines the plan's purpose, group members and overall direction.
Part 2 - Strategic section: defines the hazards and risks to be managed and outlines all CDEM tasks for the next five years.
Part 3 - Operational arrangements: describes how the group will prepare for, respond to and recover from civil defence emergencies.
Part 4 - Administrative section: outlines arrangements for group funding, budgets and administration.
Part 5 - Annexes: annexes and supporting documentation.
You can download the CDEM Group Plan in PDF format below. The table of contents has bookmarks embedded so you can quickly access the different sections. You may wish to read the readers guide first, as it will provide you with some background information and an overview of the plan. To view these PDFs, please use Adobe Acrobat version 5 or above. You can download the adobe reader for free from here.
Readers Guide(393 KB, about 1.5mins to download, 56k modem)
Waikato CDEM Group Plan
(1.1 MB, about 5mins to download, 56k modem)
Not all the details for outlining CDEM arrangements need to be included in the main body of the plan. The following supporting documents have been written to complement and the main CDEM Group Plan.
Supporting documents
Hazard and risk analysis: explanatory notes
This report outlines the processes, consultation, and conclusions in identifying the hazards that will be addressed by the Waikato CDEM Group. You can download a copy of this document in PDF format below.
Hazard and Risk Analysis: Explanatory Notes
(1.0 MB, about 4.5mins to download, 56k modem)