Civil defence shock | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

New arrangements for emergency responses in Auckland have been revealed, and not everyone is confident it will help us get though. Edward Rooney reports.

A key base for Auckland's new civil defence emergency response is being set up just above sea level in an area identified as a tsunami risk.

Civil defence is handled by territorial local authorites and is being restructured during the amalgamation of Auckland's seven councils in November. The Auckland Transition Agency has been working on the merger of civil defence facilties, staff and resources.

Agency spokesman Colin Dale confirms the headquarters for emergency response operations to the north of the region will be run from the current Rodney District Council offices in Orewa.

Mr Dale says siting civil defence bases will be practical for day-to-day administration and provides good coverage across the region.

Asked by The Aucklander if it made sense to station a base on a flood plain at Orewa, he says: "Orewa , quite rightly, has issues with tsunami, but it's not critical.

"You only realy need one main centre to run an emergency response from and that is in Pitt St [Auckland CBD]. If the main one wasn't available for any reason then any one of the other facilities can step in.

"In an emergency, operations can be run out of a school hall or a a fire station. They will set up wherever they need to be."

Mr Dale says the current North Shore base, at 400 East Coast Rd on a ridge above Mairangi Bay, will remain for use in any emergencies.

"The East Coast Rd facility is a back-up facility and will also be used for training purposes, as it has been in the past. It will continue to to serve that local community in that respect."

Mr Dale says the only sites specifically built for civil defence operations are at Elcoat Ave in Waitakere and Pitt St.

The agency tells The Aucklander 14 civil defence headquarters staff will be located in the existing Civil Defence office in the current Auckland Regional Council building on Pitt St.

A local staff of four will be based at Elcoat Ave, three will be at the Orewa Service Centre in Rodney, four will be at Manukau. A further four people will be the local staff for Auckland Central, based in Pitt St.

The agency says the only facility to be closed will be at the Bledisloe Building in Aotea Square, downtown Auckland. Its staff will to Pitt St and overall staffing levels have been retained.

North Shore City councillor Grant Gillon says civil defence operations should continue to be based at Mairangi Bay.

"The North Shore Civil Defence Operations Centre on East Coast Rd is reputed to currently have the most resources in the region," he says. "It is elevated high on a ridge providing excellent communications.

"It has a specially designated building, and its elevation allows it to avoid most disasters such as tsunamis."

Dr Gillon says North Shore is not as close to Orewa as those based in central Auckland might think.

"We need to nurture our civil defence volunteers on the Shore, in their own communities. We cannot expect our volunteers to travel to Orewa to train. The current plans can only ensure that the current high level of civil defence readiness will diminish, and that the quarter of a million North Shore residents will receive much less help in an emergency, and the civil defence response times will lengthen."