Award welcome recognition of strength through working together

The Canterbury Regional Emergency Management Office congratulates Christchurch City Council on winning international recognition in the International Association of Emergency Managers' Oceania Council’s 2010 Partners in Preparedness Award.

The 'Tsunami Risks and Response to Warnings in the Christchurch Coastal Evacuation Zone' project was part of an ongoing Community Resilience-building initiative of the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

The Christchurch-based project was planned and delivered jointly by Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury and Regional Emergency Management Office staff, supported by the Ministry of Civil Defence.

"Joint projects such as this, making the most of expertise and resources within the partner agencies and drawing on the needs, enthusiasm and knowledge of communities, will play a big part in the future for Civil Defence in New Zealand," said Jon Mitchell, manager of the Regional Emergency Management Office and New Zealand representative to the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Oceania.

"The Christchurch project was informed by similar projects in Hurunui, Waimakariri and Kaikoura districts. The Regional Emergency Management Office will be promoting and supporting more of these projects within Christchurch and elsewhere in Canterbury in the future," he said.

“The project was a pilot for the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management's new Community Engagement Guideline that should be being used in Canterbury communities right now to ensure that the needs of our communities are able to be identified and incorporated into immediate and longer-term earthquake recovery projects.”

The award is being presented at the Asia-Oceania Resilience Conference 2010 in Singapore this week.

Website: www.cdemcanterbury.govt.nz