Civil Defence

Communities in the Australian state of Victoria have been urged to prepare for a severe fire risk today.

Blazes continue to burn in East Gippsland in the state's northeast, despite the wet weather… Audio

On Sunday night, people in the Bay of Plenty jumped into their cars after sirens went off - but that turned out to be a false alarm.

Yesterday the director of the National Emergency Management Agency… Audio

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has apologised after a false tsunami warning in the Bay of Plenty on Sunday night, blaming a legacy siren and IT system which it has now patched.

Sirens began wailing… Audio

New Zealand firefighters returning from the front lines of Australia's bush fires say there are lessons to be learned back home.

It comes amid growing fears, including from the government, that… Audio

There's been a surge of people volunteering to become firefighters in Australia since the bushfire season started last year.

In the space of a bit over two months, more than 25,000 people volunteered… Audio

A team of New Zealand Salvation Army members have been helping in a New South Wales community devastated by the fires, where they've been caught up in the thick of it.

Wellingtonian Gerry Walker is… Audio

New Zealand firefighters who went over to the Australia to help with the bushfire effort have begun returning home.

RNZ reporter MacKenzie Smith was at Auckland Airport to hear of their experiences.

Fire and Emergency say last night's accidental Tsunami warning was the result of an old IT system, that is no longer in use.

Sirens started sounding at about 9:15pm on Sunday from Te Puke to Waihi… Audio

Another group of New Zealand firefighters from around the country are heading to Australia to fight its forest fires.

They left Auckland airport on Sunday afternoon for New South Wales where some… Audio

Heavy rains have helped douse some of the wildfires rampaging through Australia since September last year.

There have been downpours in the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, which… Audio

About $1.5 million worth of construction projects in Christchurch will be finished and opened this year, marking another milestone in the Christchurch rebuild.

Of the 12 anchor projects six have been… Audio

Sirens at fire stations between Te Puke and Waihi Beach went off around 9:15 last night.

No one is clear why the sirens went off, but local civil defence says there was no tsunami threat.

Fire and… Audio

Emergency agencies have questions to answer this morning after a false alarm was heard along a 50-kilometre stretch of coastal Bay of Plenty last night.

About 9:15pm, sirens sounded from Tauranga to… Audio

Residents and holidaymakers in coastal Bay of Plenty were sent scrambling last night, after what sounded like a tsunami warning.

A false alarm was heard along a 50-kilometre stretch of the coast… Audio

A person has died following a house fire in Christchurch early this morning.

The fire was reported just before six this morning at a boarding house in the seaside suburb of New Brighton.

Reporter… Audio

Despite a national bushfire crisis raging since September, Australia is only now entering what is considered to be its worst fire months.

The danger is predicted to be greatest today due to hot… Audio

Today marks one month since the fatal explosion on Whakaari that killed 19 people, two of whom haven't yet been found.

Twenty five people remain in hospitals here and in Australia, six of them with… Audio

Thousands of Indonesians are displaced, dozens are dead, and at least two others are missing following the worst flooding the country's seen in more than two decades.

The deluge began on New Years… Audio

A New Zealand firefighter who helped tackle the Australian bushfires in November 2019 says fresh crews being deployed today will face unprecedented and unpredictable conditions.

… Audio