Emergency – what to do

An emergency or disaster could strike any time or anywhere in your community, but being prepared can make a big difference. Knowing you've got a plan in place and supplies at hand will give you peace of mind and help you get through.

Make a household plan

• Plan to look after yourselves for at least 3 days, preferably 7 and if you can, up to 2 weeks (eg, if roads are closed or power is out for longer). This includes having sufficient fuel for cooking, heating and transport if required. 

Video: Practical advice – how to prepare your flat for an emergency

Video: Are you prepared for a natural emergency?

Video: Pet emergency checklist – be prepared to keep them safe

• Keep basic supplies at home, in a grab bag(external link), in your car (if you have one), and at work, so you can look after yourself if you can’t leave home or if you need to evacuate quickly.
• Aim for food that keeps well and doesn’t need cooking, and enough for at least 3 days, aiming for up to 2 weeks if you can. Remember special food needs such as baby formula, allergy‑safe foods and pet food. Read more about how to put a food survival kit together.
• Store enough safe drinking water for more than 3 days if possible and learn how to store it properly so it stays safe to drink. Remember that you’ll need clean water for cooking and washing food with as well as for drinking. Read more about drinking water safety.
• Include other useful items such as warm clothes, a torch, radio (battery or wind‑up), spare batteries, first-aid kit, medicines and copies of important documents in your supplies. Have a small amount of cash to use in case eftpos or banking systems aren't working.
• If you're living in rural or farming community keep a safely secured canister of petrol or diesel, to power generators and vehicles in case of emergency.
• If you have heating or cooking facilities that run off gas canisters, always keep a full spare in case you can't easily get a refill.

• Plan ahead for pets and other animals by having food, leads, cages, and any medicines ready. Know where you can take them to if you must leave home or the farm.
• If you have livestock such as cows, horses or lifestyle block animals, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has important information on how to include your animals in your emergency planning and preparation.(external link)  

Image credit: Canva

• In an emergency, use more than one way to get information, such as listening to the radio, going online if you can, and following the advice of any Emergency Mobile Alerts on your phone. If the power is out and you have no radio or other communications, try listening to the car radio for updates.
• Your local Civil Defence group(external link) and council will share updates on their websites and social media pages. Local community Facebook pages often have the most up-to-date information.  
• The Antenno app provides useful council-related information that’s relevant to your location. It includes emergency information when it’s needed. You can download Antenno for Android(external link) and Antenno for Apple(external link). 
• Swap contact details with neighbours so you can check on each other and share updates.
• Follow official guidance from NEMA(external link) and other government agencies about what is happening and what actions you should take.
• If you have low or no data, you can still access Healthify using zero data(external link). 

• If authorities tell you to evacuate, or your home isn’t safe (eg, after a landslide, flood, or fire), leave quickly and calmly.
• Take your grab bag with key supplies, important documents, medicines, and devices (including chargers). Take your pets with you if it’s safe to do so.
• Know ahead of time where you might go, such as friends or whānau, a designated evacuation centre, kura, community hall or marae, or higher ground in a tsunami. Let your whānau know where this is.
• Follow all instructions from emergency services and Civil Defence. Some roads and access might be cut off by flood water, landslips or other damage. Always use safe travel routes as advised by local authorities. 

Image credit: Shaun Batterton (with permission)

In most emergencies, it’s best to stay in your own home if you can. Keep up to date with instructions from your local authorities and don’t leave if you don’t have to. 

If your home is damaged 

• Check for danger first (fire, broken glass, loose power lines) and move to the safest part of the house, or shelter in place if you can.  
• Call 111 if anyone is badly hurt, trapped, or if you or your property is in immediate danger. 

If the power goes out 

• Use torches or battery-powered lanterns for lighting. Avoid candles and oil lamps where possible as they can tip over or cause a fire.
• Unplug small appliances such as heaters and laptops. When the power comes back on, they might be affected by electrical power surges or water damage. 
• If you’re dependent on medical equipment such as dialysis machines or ventilators, contact your local power company to report the outage and inform them you’re medically dependent.
• If your phone needs charging, many cars have USB ports. Make sure the engine is running so you can charge your phone but park the car outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. 
• Eat the food in your fridge first and avoid opening your freezer – the more times you open the door, the quicker things can defrost and go off. Read more about food safety in an emergency.  
• After that, eat the food in your cupboard or emergency kit.
• Use your barbeque or camping cooker to heat food and boil water – but ONLY outside. It's not safe to use gas cookers (apart from gas stoves) indoors.
• Stay warm by putting on extra layers of clothes, cosy socks and using blankets. Close all curtains and blinds at night to keep the heat in.