Civil Defence

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Emergencies can happen anytime - from floods and earthquakes to fires, tsunami and pandemics. Be ready, stay informed. Know what to do. If life or property is at risk, call 111 immediately.

Local state of emergency in place

A local State of Emergency is currently in place.
It was first declared at 5pm on Wednesday 21 January and has been extended until 5pm on Wednesday 4 February. Declaring a local state of emergency allows us to:

• keep people safe while recovery work continues
• support affected communities while recovery work continues
• give response teams special powers, such as carrying out assessments
• act quickly if conditions change.

These powers help ensure our teams can respond effectively as situations develop.

How you can help

Please continue to:

• Look out for your neighbours - especially anyone who may need extra support
• follow instructions from emergency services
• stay up to date through official channels

By supporting each other, we can keep our community safe while recovery work progresses.

Donations can be made to the Disaster Relief Trust

• Account Name: Gisborne District Council
• Account: 03 0638 0502288 00
• For overseas payments - SWIFT code: WPACNZ2W
• Reference: Donation - Jan 26 CD Emergency

Building safety placard: red and yellow stickers

If your home has a red or yellow building placard due to flood-related damage, we have information to guide you through what it means and what to do next. What you need to know

Landslide assessments

• East Coast evacuations, read latest updates

Notice changes around your home - let us know

If you live in a hilly area, keep an eye out for signs of ground movement like cracks in the ground or walls, strange creaking noises or doors that stick or retaining walls starting to lean. Call us on 0800 653 800.

Rates relief

If your home, business or property has been hit hard by landslides or flooding during the local state of emergency, or if your home was red or yellow stickered, we have rates remissions and rates relief options available

Local roads

• For up to date information, check road conditons 

State highways

• Check the NZTA website

Council facilities

• Check our facility closures

Report issues

• If life or property is at risk - call 111 immediately.

For customer service:

• ph: 0800 653 800 24/7
• online eFix form
• Antenno app

Links to rainfall, rivers, roads and subscribe to text alerts

Stay up to date on weather and roads

Latest MetService weather alerts, state highway and local road conditions. For our Local Road Information

Emergency status and what the warnings mean

Stay informed and prepared. Here's what each status or warning level means:

Weather warning from MetService

Issued when MetService alerts us to severe weather. MetService defines these levels:

• 🟡 Weather Watch (Yellow) – Severe weather is possible but not yet certain. Typically issued 1 - 3 days in advance.
• 🟠 Weather Warning (Orange) – Severe weather is expected and meets MetService’s criteria - heavy rain, strong winds, or snowfall.
• 🔴 Red Warning – Extreme weather is expected to cause significant disruption or damage.

Alert or Activated

Civil Defence has been alerted to a possible situation and is monitoring and gathering information. This may be triggered by:

• MetService - event has started
• Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
• Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management
• Other systems such as telemetry, flood warnings

Declared emergency

A local state of emergency declared under section 68 or section 69 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. This applies when a situation:

• results from a natural or man-made event  (eg. earthquake, eruption, tsunami, land movement, flood, storm, tornado, epidemic, technological failure)
• may cause loss of life, injury, illness, distress or endanger public safety or property
• requires a significant and coordinated response beyond emergency services and under the Act.

State of national emergency

Declared under Section 66 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. This applies when a situation affects the whole country or requires national-level coordination.

Be ready for any disaster

Emergencies can happen anytime - are you prepared?

You should be able to cope on your own for at least 5 days. Here's a basic guide to what you'll need:

• An emergency plan - where to meet family and how to contact one another if separated.
• Prepare a grab bag of essential items.
• Enough food in your home to last 5 days.
• Know where to get water, if your usual supply is not available.
• Alternative lighting - a torch with spare batteries or a wind up one, gas lantern or light-sticks.
• Battery operated or wind up radio and spare batteries - don't forget your car radio as a last resort.
• First aid kit, make sure it includes any essential medications.
• Blankets, survival blankets or warm waterproof clothing.
• Alternative cooking methods, BBQ or gas cooker.
• Store important family documents where you can get them easily.

For more information check the Get Ready website

Listen to your radio

Tune into one of the radio stations

Our emergency channels

• Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Facebook
• Gisborne District Council Facebook
• Antenno app for alerts and notices
• Subscribe to text alerts (scroll up the page).