Thirty people including representatives from Police, Fire, Ambulance and other organisations packed the Raglan Town Hall Supper Room on Thursday night for a Civil Defence workshop. The meeting had been organised by the Raglan Community Board to look at how a Civil Defence emergency would be handled in Raglan.
Paul Blewman, the Local Waikato Valley, Controller & Civil Defence Emergency Manager, gave the meeting an overview of the new regional civil defence plan which is open for public comment until 1st August. He pointed out the hazard identification list in the document was one of the main checklists to be considered by locals. Paul said, “I am very pleased with the strong attendance at this workshop.”
The workshop then broke into small groups and looked at these areas.
- Our community being prepared
- Being prepared at home, school and work
- Saving lives and property in an emergency
- Information and liaison
- Control and coordination
A key message coming back from several of the groups was that the best strategy was to be prepared locally and get to know your neighbours. In a civil defence emergency the siren was not an alert in Raglan. To keep informed it is best to listen to local radio stations who will be given messages if evacuation is considered necessary. Click here to hear the special Civil Defence Sting to be used by radio stations. Local emergency services would control and co-ordinate any emergency under the direction of Paul Blewman, the Local Waikato Valley, Controller & Civil Defence Emergency Manager.
Raglan Councillor, Clint Baddeley thanked Rodger Gallagher and the Raglan Community Board for organising the workshop.