Taieri communities are preparing themselves for the worst.
In response to the June 3 flood, which dumped 175mm of rain on Dunedin in 24 hours, Taieri organisations have formed community emergency response groups in Mosgiel, Brighton and Outram.
Clutha-Taieri area response manager Senior Sergeant Alastair Dickie said the June flood and 2011 Christchurch earthquake highlighted the need for areas away from a city's CBD to be prepared for the worst in civil defence emergencies, in which the communities could be cut off for days.
''When you look at the flood, a lot of the resources were held back in the city, so we wanted something more self-sufficient [on the Taieri],'' he said.
''The ultimate plan is for them to be self-sufficient [in an emergency] until emergency services can get to them.''
While the groups were still being developed, he was confident the structures in place would already see the communities respond better in an emergency.
''We would perform a lot better right now,'' he said.
''I'm confident it would work now to a large degree.''
Emergency response plans were being developed and would cover initial response procedures, contacts within the communities, vulnerable people, identifying co-ordination and welfare centres and other logistics such as transport and animal welfare.
A committee was established to oversee the groups and was meeting regularly to discuss progress and plans, he said.
The hope was communities would be prepared regardless of the emergency and plans were being developed for earthquakes, storms, hazardous substances, fire, landslips, dam failure and tsunamis, he said.
However, more work and volunteers were needed to make sure that, if phone lines failed, evacuation notices could be passed in person.
''Unfortunately, there seems to be some complacency in the community making it difficult to gather some information and establish such groups,'' he said.
''Think about Christchurch, where it took up to three to four days for emergency services to get to some neighbourhoods and it was very much down to those people to look after themselves.
''There is a very real risk that both Mosgiel and Outram could be cut off in the right conditions, so this planning and preparedness needs to be taken seriously.''
• If you want to be a co-ordinator for your street, contact Lyn Robins, 489-1114 or (027) 489-1114.
The group co-ordinator for Mosgiel is Bill Feather and in Brighton is Scott Weatherall.
Outram's co-ordinator is yet to be decided.
