Kate’s first taste of Civil Defence

Kate's first taste of Civil Defence

26 April 2017

Council customer service officer Kate Guthrie had no idea how useful her work place skills would be when the Edgecumbe flooding event happened earlier this month.

But when she volunteered to help out in the aftermath, it opened up a whole new world for her.

Kate has been working at the council 18 months and normally spends her days helping customers at the front desk.

During the recovery effort, Kate manned the registration desk for those wanting to return to their homes in flood-ravaged Edgecumbe. This meant pairing people who wanted to go inside the cordon with an emergency support worker escort and documenting requests correctly.

"I had no idea what to expect," Kate said. "It was like nothing I've ever seen. You could kind of walk around and feel the heartbreak in the town."

Kate spent two days in Edgecumbe, hearing stories of livelihoods lost and dreams destroyed.

"It was awful to see people's lives absolutely ripped away from them," she said.

However her first Civil Defence experience was also a great learning experience that she thinks will be incredibly helpful if an emergency were to happen in the Taupo District.

"I've learned so much and got a better appreciation for what we hold close to our hearts," she said.

"If something does happen here, we've got the skills from the experience we had in Edgecumbe to help get us through."

Kate was one of six Taupo District Council employees who are part of the Bay of Plenty regional New Zealand Response Team that helped in Edgecumbe.