On 4 October, the Buckland Community Emergency Response Group will host the first-ever Community-Led Emergency Response Expo in New Zealand. This event will bring together community groups, emergency services, and other organisations involved in emergency management to showcase how local preparedness and national support can come together.

The Expo is being led by Buckland Community Response includes support from:

• FIRST72 (supported by AMI Insurance)

• New Zealand Red Cross

• Auckland Council & Auckland Emergency Management

• Fire and Emergency New Zealand

• Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC)

• Neighbourhood Support

• Rapid Relief Team (RRT)

Together, these organisations will demonstrate what it takes to prepare, activate, and support communities during a major emergency.

FIRST72 will focus our stall on household and community preparedness, and we are excited to be supported by AMI Insurance. On display will be:

• Grab Bags and essential kit examples

• Flood barriers and flood response/recovery solutions

• Emergency communications equipment

• Training pathways for communities and hubs

The FIRST72 and AMI team will be on site to interact with families, volunteers, and local leaders, sharing practical tools and knowledge to strengthen readiness at both the household and community level.

Events like Cyclone Gabrielle showed how critical it is for communities to be able to stand up their own hubs quickly and remain self-sufficient in the first days of a disaster. The Buckland Expo is a live example of what that looks like in practice with communities leading the way, with national partners behind them.

We will also have prizes and giveaways for households and community hubs at the event.

Join us on 4 October in Buckland, Auckland.

Details here:

Community Emergency Response EXPO