The NMDHB's Public Health Service has Response plans and procedures in the event of a health emergency or incident. The Public Health Service may be required to respond to any type of incident where their may be a risk or impact to community and public health.

As examples public health may respond to:

• Hazardous chemical spill
• Illness or health concerns on vessels  coming into ports from overseas
• Disease outbreak in the community

Public Health Emergencies may happen at any time. It is important that there are plans to prepare for response and recovery to so as to  minimize the risk to health while ensuring the continuation of health services. Especially in natural disasters like storm events, essential services like water and power may be disrupted which would add to the health risks.

In conjunction with other agencies the Public Health Service has plans prepared to respond to

• Communicable disease outbreaks (e.g. pandemic influenza)
• Flooding
• Earthquakes
• Hazardous Substance incidents (e.g. chemical spills)
• Tsunami
• Other natural disasters

How can you be prepared?
By following some simple steps and planning you can greatly reduce the risk to you and your family/household .

Here are some useful documents.
• Pandemic Checklist
• Emergency Supplies list (Pandemic)
• Household Civil Defence Plan

Also don't forget to visit the Civil Defence and Get Thru website.