Civil Defence
Probe into Civil Defence response to Cyclone Gabrielle to be released
A long-awaited report scrutinising Hawke's Bay Civil Defence's response to Cyclone Gabrielle will be made public today.
Learning how fires behave to keep control them in the future
Fire scientists are looking for land with gorse and trees to burn, with the aim of learning more about how fire behaves. Hugh Wallace is a wildfire scientist at Scion, the Crown research institute for… Audio
Cyclone Gabrielle anniversary: Inside the emergency response
A year after Cyclone Gabrielle smashed through Hawke's Bay civil defence controller Ian Macdonald talked to RNZ's Hawke's Bay reporter about the biggest emergency response of his career.
State of emergency declared in Bluecliffs
A state of emergency has been declared in the small southland community of Bluecliffs. The settlement is about an hour and 15 minutes from Invercargill. The Waiau River is running high and more rain… Video, Audio
Tess Brunton update on Bluecliffs
Tess Brunton updates the situation at Bluecliffs in Southland Audio
Lee Valley fire could take days to contain
Firefighters warn it could take two to three days to contain a fire burning in a pine forest in the Tasman district.
The blaze spread quickly up the Lee Valley Wednesday afternoon and covers about… Audio
Weather warning 'over-estimated' West Coast rain – council
The West Coast Regional Council is reviewing its use of MetService weather forecasts in its hydrology and emergency planning after what has been dubbed two "over-estimated" rain warnings for the…
Investigation launched into tourist ship grounding
Maritime New Zealand has launched an investigation after a tourist ship ran aground in Fiordland Wednesday night.
The Fiordland Navigator made a distress call after running aground near Crooked Arm… Audio
Expert Feature: First Aid
With summer on the doorstep and outdoor adventures on the agenda for the holidays, this week's expert topic is a timely one. We're talking about first aid, how to be prepared and what you can do to… Audio
USAR specialists warn poor vehicle fleet 'slows response' to emergencies
The country's fleet of specialist search and rescue vehicles is so bad that the rescuers have begun rebelling.
Northern Hawke's Bay and Te Tairāwhiti dealing with flooding once again
Wairoa's Civil Defence controller says some of the slips caused by the weekend's heavy rain are worse than those after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Communities throughout northern Hawke's Bay and Te… Audio
Flooding in Tai Rāwhiti, Wairoa: infrastructure and welfare checks underway
Water levels are now dropping and bridges and roads are being inspected in Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay, where flooding has followed three days of heavy rain, and people are being asked to stay off the…
10 months in a cabin: Owners wait for fate of flood-damaged homes
"A nightmare camping trip that doesn't stop": Auckland Council has begun the buyout process for flood-damaged homes, but many remain in limbo, worried they won't have answers by Christmas. Audio
Tsunami warning sirens to be replaced by mobile alerts
Most of Auckland's tsunami warning sirens will be deactivated and replaced by an Emergency Mobile Alert system.
Forty-two sirens across the Rodney, Albany and Waitakere Wards will be deactivated from… Audio
MetService on criticism: Auckland Anniversary flooding was 'unprecedented'
MetService is defending itself against criticism it was unable to forecast the extreme rainfall that led to deadly flooding in Auckland in January.
Support denied for owners of storm-damaged homes in trusts
People with homes damaged by the summer storms face yet another obstacle as they learn their trust-owned properties disqualify them from accessing support. Audio
Magnitude quake 6 leaves South Canterbury residents shaken
A magnitude six earthquake which struck in Canterbury just before quarter-past-nine Wednesday morning has left some nearby residents feeling a bit shaken.
The quake, which struck 45 kilometres north… Audio
Graham Leonard: how prepared are we for a tsunami?
Long or Strong - Get Gone! - most of us know this advice on when to evacuate due to tsunami risk following an earthquake, but if it happened would we actually act? Surveys suggest around a third of… Audio
Danger of wildfires on the rise
The danger of wildfires is on the rise with forecasts of a hotter, drier, windier summer.
Fire and Emergency says the wildfire season could kick-off earlier this year, and people should prepare their… Audio
Kiwis know little about early quake warning systems, research suggests
New Zealanders do not know how to react if they get an earthquake alert, research from Massey University suggests. Audio