In August and September, some Council staff are attending training sessions run by Emergency Management Canterbury.
This training is provided to all councils in Canterbury free of charge. It upskills the participants and helps create connections with other councils which would be prepared to mobilise in the event of an emergency.
In an emergency, the Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) will be activated in Waimate and Council staff redeployed to the EOC.
In July, Mackenzie District Council Emergency Management Officer Joe Rush spoke to EOC staff and elected members about the role Civil Defence played when two tourist buses crashed in icy conditions near Twizel. He provided valuable insights into how Civil Defence helped Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand respond to the incident.
In November, there will be a national exercise where all council EOCs and other agencies simulate a response to an Alpine Fault earthquake.
Council encourages residents to think about their personal preparedness for an emergency. Some useful information and checklists can be found at getready.govt.nz
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