Civil Defence Waikato has launched its Power Out? Plan On! campaign, encouraging communities to prepare for power cuts that could last anything from a few hours to several days. But there's a particularly important message in its latest advice, and one that resonates strongly with our Tamahere, Matangi and surrounding rural communities: get to know your neighbours before an emergency happens.

The Tamahere Community Response Group (Civil Defence -TCRG) is a community-led volunteer group working alongside Waikato District Council Emergency Management. Its purpose is simple: use local people, knowledge and connections to help Tamahere prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.