Schools across the region are now better prepared to cope in an emergency thanks to the first tranche of emergency radios have been rolled out by Tairāwhiti Emergency Management.

Ukraine may be a world away from Gisborne but Tairāwhiti Emergency Management group manager Ben Green could see plenty of similarities after presenting at the inaugural Australia-New Zealand-Ukraine Cooperation Forum.

If your home has a red or yellow building placard due to flood-related damage, this page guides you through what it means and what to do next.

Standing with East Cape communities - donations welcomed via the Disaster Relief Trust.
We appreciate all your support.
Ngā mihi.

UPDATE 8.15pm January 26

Annette Hutchins is leaving nothing to chance. She’s always been somewhat emergency prepared, but since Cyclone Gabrielle she’s taken that up a notch or two.

A casual chat about how to connect communication blackspots around Tairāwhiti has led to an ingenious system that will work when all else fails. It all started when Tairāwhiti went dark during Cyclone Gabrielle – all communications were cut off. Cell towers and data networks went offline and there was no Wi-Fi or phone coverage.

Spirited discussion and plenty of learnings were the order of the day when 30-odd people from all over the country converged on the Tairāwhiti Emergency Coordination Centre for the National Public Information Management (PIM) hui.

A small delegation from the Cook Islands emergency management team are heading out of the region buoyed by what they hope they can introduce to their country after visiting Tairāwhiti Civil Defence.

The Tairāwhiti community have become all too familiar with different types of natural hazards in recent years, but there's an even bigger risk lurking off our coast.