What is a Community Emergency Hub?
In a disaster, it’s likely official services will be stretched to a point where they must prioritise the most urgent callouts. The people closest to you, your neighbours, will likely be a key source of support.
A Community Emergency Hub, or Hub, is a place where you and your neighbours can go to help each other in a major emergency and share skills and resources, information about what’s happening in your neighbourhood, and support others who in the same situation as you and your family.
Our pilot programme
We are introducing Community Emergency Hubs to some suburbs in Tauranga in February 2025. These will be run by the community, and you can pitch in to help.
We will be launching the Hubs in Matua, Ōtūmoetai, Bellevue and Brookfield. Community events, with food and fun activities, will be held in these neighbourhoods where Hubs would be established in an emergency, enabling you to get to know your neighbours in a comfortable setting before you might need to support each other.
If you live nearby, we’d encourage you to attend the events, learn about the Hubs, establish what skills and resources you have around you, and find out how you might be able to support your neighbours in a time of need.
After the open day events, the Hubs will be on standby for the community to open up in a disaster. There are keyholders near each Hub who will be available to open locations for neighbours to pitch in when the time comes.
Readiness drills
Once the Community Emergency Hub launch event has taken place, each Hub will run a readiness drill to simulate how they might run in an emergency. These readiness drills walk participants through setting up, working as a team, and problem solving in a safe environment.
A guiding booklet, known as a Hub Guide, will be used to support the community taking part in the drill with all the information you would need when it’s time to open the Community Emergency Hub. You can see examples of these booklets under the ‘Resources’ section on our webpage.
You do not need to attend a launch event to join a readiness drill. Everyone is welcome to get involved and practice working with their neighbours to support the people closest to them.
Being prepared for an emergency
It’s important you make sure you and the people and things you care about, are ready. Every household’s plan will be different, so we encourage you to plan in case you have to rely solely on your own resources, and resources in your neighbourhood, for some time.
For more information on what to do to get through, head to the Get Ready website.