Testing our Civil Defence processes at Greenwich Green

If you were in the Greenwich Green neighbourhood last week, you may have seen a group of helpful-looking folk in high visibility clothing visiting residents.

It was all part of our Civil Defence team's exercise to test out their processes around evacuations and welfare in an emergency.

The day was originally planned to be a full evacuation of about 20 houses in the Epping Place and Swan Close area, but due to heavy rain the team brought the welfare exercise to the residents. This involved visiting these same houses to have people fill out welfare forms, have a chat about emergency evacuations and enjoy a tea or coffee with Civil Defence staff and volunteers.

Emergency manager Ian Connon said the exercise was well received, with residents commenting on how good it was to do a test run for an emergency and know what would happen should the worst occur.

"The response from those we encountered was they were really grateful we did it and it was a great experience," he said. "It was also fantastic for our welfare staff and volunteers to get some hands-on experience in processing those in need in an emergency."

Exercises like this are carried out from time to time in the Taupo District to keep us up to date on how to respond in an emergency. A similar one in a different neighbourhood is planned for 2018.