Emergency help

In an emergency call 111

The New Zealand Fire Service, Ambulance Services and the New Zealand Police all respond to this number.

Visit the emergency services 111 website.

The service was first introduced in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958 as a trial, and began in Christchurch in 1964.

What do you do when there is an emergency? Who do you contact for help? This is a listing of some organisations to connect you with help when you need it.

Earthquake assistance

If you need emergency repairs following earthquake damage call 0800 326 242 (0800 DAMAGE). For more information visit the Earthquake Commission website. More useful links can be found on our Earthquake recovery page.

Emergency services

New Zealand Fire Service: Official site providing information about the organisation, its people, role and equipment, plus latest news, recruitment, building requirements
New Zealand Police: New Zealand Police is the lead agency responsible for reducing crime and enhancing community safety. Police provide services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, operating from more than 400 community-based police stations.
St John New Zealand: St John serves communities throughout New Zealand by delivering an extensive range of services and products in the health and health-related fields. These services and products include emergency and non-emergency ambulance services and emergency care and first aid at public events.

Civil Defence

Civil Defence: The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management aims to make New Zealand and its communities resilient to hazards and disasters.
Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group: The Canterbury CDEM Group is a partnership of local authorities, emergency services and other organisations tasked with providing effective and comprehensive management of major hazards and their consequences anywhere in Canterbury.

Safe TXT

If you are hitch-hiking, walking home or using a taxi late at night, you can register your whereabouts on a central database via text message and in the unlikely event that you go missing, the police can access the information you recorded.

Important Note

This service is in not a replacement for calling 111 if people are in danger or feeling threatened. The messages are not monitored and will only be accessed following a formal approach from the police.

Community support and helplines

LifeLine: LifeLine provides free, professional and confidential telephone counselling services and professional ‘Face to Face’ counselling (by appointment) with payment on a sliding scale.
Helplines: Helplines and support organisations targeted for teenagers. Listing from the Pulse te Auaha.
Community support and social agencies: Internet gateway's list of community support web sites
Support groups: Internet gateway list of support groups
Neighbourhood watch programmes: Listing of local programmes from CINCH, Community Information Christchurch

Aid agencies

Red Cross New Zealand: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world. New Zealand Red Cross is dedicated to the protection of human life and dignity by the alleviation of suffering.
Aid and aid agencies: Internet gateway's list of aid agency web sites

Disasters

Earthquakes and tsunamis: Internet gateway’s list of earthquake and tsunami links
Extreme weather: Internet gateway’s list of sites about extreme weather conditions
New Zealand disasters: Information on historical disasters in New Zealand
Volcanoes: Internet gateway’s list of sites about volcanoes

In Community

CINCH