Wellington's Civil Defence Centres have been renamed Community Emergency Hubs and these boxes full of radio gear, thumbtacks, hand sanitiser, string and sharpies will replace the small and ageing collection of blankets and stretchers that used to be in them.

Wellingtonians are being told to stop viewing Civil Defence centres as war-style supply bunkers and realise they may have to fend for themselves following a disaster.

The call to self-reliance accompanies a major overhaul of the region's 120 Civil Defence centres, which have begun being emptied of ageing survival supplies and renamed Community Emergency Hubs, to be used as communication gathering points.

The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) said there were perception problems around the centres - which are primarily school buildings and churches.

TALIA SHADWELL/FAIRFAX NZ These radio communication devices will go into every Community Emergency Hub, with a set of instructions for the community to use them to listen for advice and call for help.

Their supplies, like old blankets and stretchers, had been distributed in decades-past, and in volumes too small to have been a lifeline to sustain entire communities, WREMO regional manager Bruce Pepperell​ said.

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AMY JACKMAN/FAIRFAX NZ Wellington Regional Emergency Management's Bruce Pepperell

But the change has left at least one community questioning whether the new direction places too much faith in Wellingtonians to muster their own disaster plans.

​Tawa School principal Ian Dewar raised the issue, saying school principals were told about a fortnight ago of the change at a disaster preparedness meeting.

While the school has its own supplies for pupils, parents and staff, he worried the rest of the community would follow the Civil Defence signs to its gate, expecting help. They could offer people shelter, but little else, which probably would not be received well in an emergency situation, Dewar said.

"The issue isn't that we agree or disagree with their philosophy, the issue is - are we aware? We think our Tawa parents are symptomatic of the wider community and we know now the community don't know what will be available to them in the event of an emergency."

Pepperell said the organisation was planning to start advertising the change soon.

He said the old vision of Civil Defence Centres as "Cold War-style bunkers" stocked with blankets and tinned food was outdated. Authorities were not realistically able to keep them freshly topped-up for entire suburbs to rely on. "There's an expectation in some quarters that Civil Defence will sort out everything after an emergency. This is about being resilient from the bottom up, empowering people to take responsibility for their own communities."

Wellingtonians grew up being warned of the risk of "the big one" shaking the region to isolation: "We know that Centennial Highway will be cut off for up to four months, we know we wouldn't be able to get supplies over the Rimutakas."

If Wellington's low-lying airport was wrecked, the main route for supplies to get into the region was by sea, at a rate of about 400 20-foot containers a day, Pepperell said.

The logistics of how the region would respond to different types of disasters, at different times of day, was constantly being plotted and updated: "All of these things should have been in place yesterday, they won't be in place tomorrow."

Injuries, emergency call-outs and evacuations would always take first priority, he said.

Wellingtonians should have their own plans and not assume someone in authority would be available to feed them and tell them what to do immediately, Pepperell said.

Many had responded well already, he added - about two-thirds of WREMO's 26,000 grab-and-go emergency bags sold so far had been bought within the region.

​But Tawa Community Board member Robert Tredger​ was concerned WREMO was expecting too much of Wellingtonians without emergency services experience to figure out what to do following a disaster. He called it "a little over-confident".



"People need to look after themselves and their neighbours first - I agree with that part of it. But there has to be a particular group of people who can make sure there are facilities and help where it's needed."



SO WHAT DO WE DO?

Emergency operators had learned about how people act during disasters following the Canterbury earthquakes, Pepperell said, pointing to the city's Student Volunteer Army as an example of community problem-solving.

WREMO's new disaster guidelines urge unhurt residents to first check their house, then their neighbours, then their street, and help each other out with survival supplies and shelter.

Those found lacking should then head to the Community Emergency Hub and use it as a place to plan, as well as a gathering point for people vulnerable due to injury, disability or age.

The community could use the radios in every hub to contact the co-ordinating Emergency Operations Centre and tell them what they need.



Likewise they could contact the EOC to offer man-power or resources to worse-hit communities.

In a severe disaster where homes were destroyed, Wellingtonians would be able to take refuge in welfare centres, where mass supplies and first aid would likely be directed.

But exactly where would be calculated depending on what type of disaster struck.

WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR EMERGENCY KIT?