Facebook, AA Roadwatch Latest Tools For North Civil Defence

Social media giant Facebook and the Automobile Association’s Roadwatch website are two of the latest tools to be adopted by Northland’s Civil Defence officials to help provide information during winter storm events and other emergencies.

The Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group’s (CDEM) Facebook page – www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland – has been in use for about 12 months and is now the preferred source of information for many, especially during storms or when tsunami warnings have been issued.

Group spokesman Graeme MacDonald says the Facebook page continues to grow in popularity, attracting several thousand visits during a spate of recent wet weather warnings for Northland.

“Obviously social media like Facebook is just one of a wide range of tools we use to get important Civil Defence information out to the community, but it’s an increasingly well-used and popular one.”

Meanwhile, he says information about local district council road and State Highway closures/issues in Northland during a storm will now be collated by the Automobile Association (AA) and published on its website via www.AAroadwatch.co.nz

The site contains a map and brief description of closed/affected roads and an indication of when the issue/s involved is likely to be resolved.

Mr MacDonald says the AA website is well-resourced and will be a useful one-stop shop for roading information for Northlanders.

Civil Defence information is also available from the Northland Regional Council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz/civildefence

ENDS

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