The Natural Hazard Resilience project aims to build greater community resilience to natural disasters. The project involves several initiatives to help bolster emergency management response capabilities across our outlying communities and the Whakatāne District.

The project will help with:

• Purchasing emergency resources and supplies. The equipment will be placed throughout the district, including in Matatā, Edgecumbe, Waiōhau,  Galatea, Murupara, and Waimana. 
• Storing other essential emergency supplies at elevated locations in highly populated areas.
• Upgrades to local halls used to serve the community during an emergency. Seismic strengthening and minor refurbishment of the Waimana-Nukuhou North Memorial Hall and Te Teko War Memorial Hall has been completed.   
• An alternative Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to be used by Council staff if the Council Civic Centre building becomes inaccessible during an emergency. 
• Updating communities on recent changes to tsunami evacuation zones.
• The project is externally funded by $1.36 million of Better Off Funding from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

Why are we doing this?

Our goal is to ensure the district is well-equipped and households prepared to face the natural disasters our district is susceptible to.

This includes boosting community resilience to meet these challenges head-on by making emergency resources and supplies available should our outlying communities become cut off.

We understand the need for continued public education on preparing before an emergency event. We'll continue to work with key partners to build more education on preparedness for households, workplaces, marae, and schools.

What's happening now?

• We are working through purchasing emergency resources and supplies, including communications equipment. We expect these to be placed in key locations and elevated positions by the end of 2024.
• We completed the seismic strengthening and minor refurbishment of the Waimana-Nukuhou North Memorial Hall in October 2023. Similar works have now been completed for  Te Teko War Memorial Hall.
• Establishing an alternative Emergency Operations Centre on higher ground is progressing and is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
• Bay of Plenty Emergency Management updated the tsunami evacuation zones in October 2023. The region has moved away from the red, orange and yellow evacuation zones. Now, the region has a single blue evacuation zone. You can check the updated maps by visiting bopcivildefence.govt.nz
• We are continuing to work through the initiatives to help communities prepare. This includes encouraging households to proactively practice and prepare for emergencies. A public education programme will be rolled out in the coming months.

Frequently Asked Questions