What is Civil Defence?

Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group

The Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is here to work with Waikato communities and oversee the delivery of emergency management services to our region.

We are a group made up of local authorities, emergency services, lifeline utilities, welfare organisations and other agencies with a mandated role in the CDEM Act 2002 and National CDEM Plan 2015. 

The Group area is the largest in New Zealand in terms of local authorities, with 10 territorial authorities and the Waikato regional Council. Around 10% of New Zealand's population is resident in Waikato.

Our region covers around 25,000 square kilometres, stretching from the Bombay Hills and Coromandel Peninsula in the north, to the King Country and Central Plateau in the south. We border five other Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups that have hazards that may indirectly impact the Waikato. 

The environment varies from built-up urban areas to remote, isolated small communities. The hazards faced are equally diverse with variation in level of hazard risk around the region, notably higher tsunami risks on the east coast, volcanic risks in the southern areas and severe storm and flooding risks in the Coromandel area.

The Group’s vision in the Group Plan “We are all Civil Defence” expresses an aspiration that the people, organisations and communities in the Waikato work together to be more resilient to hazards. Being resilient means that collectively we have “the capacity to survive a crisis and thrive in an uncertain world”. 

Waikato Group Emergency Management Office (GEMO)

The Group Emergency Management Office develops, applies, and maintains the Waikato Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Plan. 

The eight goals of the Group Plan are consistent with the national strategy and cover all 4Rs of emergency management; risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery. 

1. Build and sustain an understanding of hazards and risks. 
2. Reduce risks from hazards to acceptable levels. 
3. Increase community preparedness and ownership. 
4. Enhance capability to deliver an effective response and recovery. 
5. Enhance capability to recover from emergencies. 
6. Maintain effective partnerships. 
7. Maintain effective leadership, governance and delivery arrangements. 
8. Effectively monitor Civil Defence Emergency Management outcomes. 

The GEMO actions the Group Plan by coordinating and facilitating the day-to-day planning and project work on behalf of the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. 

During an emergency, the GEMO supports or coordinates emergency response across the 11 councils in the Waikato region. Usually, this is done from the Group Emergency Coordination Centre in Hamilton.