Workshops to help your business survive disaster

Free workshops will be offered to businesses that Northland Civil Defence believe are ill-equipped to survive and recover from a disaster.

Business owners and operators across the region are encouraged to attend the workshops next month that will offer advice on how to get through disasters such as floods and fires.

Kim Abbott, an emergency management officer with the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (CDEM), said too many of the region's business owners are ill-prepared for such an emergency.

"While many businesses, especially our smaller ones, are familiar - and relatively comfortable - with coping with adverse events like flooding and bad weather, they still need to know more about how they can respond and recover from a wide range of incidents from fires to power cuts."

The free business continuity workshops are being run in Dargaville, Whangarei, Kaikohe and Kaitaia next month.

The half-day workshops, which will be limited to just 24 participants at a time, are a collaboration between the Northland CDEM Group, New Zealand Fire Service and the Northland Chamber of Commerce.

The first workshop will be held in Dargaville on Thursday, May 9, from 9.30am-12.30pm, followed by another at Kaikohe, from 1-4pm on Wednesday, May 15. A workshop will take place in Kaitaia Thursday, May 16, from 9.30am-12.30pm with the final event scheduled for Whangarei Thursday May 30, again from 9.30am-12.30pm.

Meanwhile, Ms Abbott said members of the wider public interested in Civil Defence or community response are invited to attend the annual Northland Civil Defence Forum in Whangarei from 9am-1pm on Thursday, May 2. Speakers include Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye and Ministry of Civil Defence emergency management director John Hamilton.

For more info contact Ms Abbott on 0800 002 004 or email kimab@nrc.govt.nz.