New Zealand: Country Case Study Report
October 27, 2014
How Law and Regulation Support Disaster Risk Reduction from IFRC-UNDP Series on Legal Frameworks to support Disaster Risk Reduction
Located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, New Zealand sits on two tectonic plates within the Pacific ring of fire, resulting in the country’s dramatic natural landscapes. New Zealand is prone to a range of natural hazards, such as floods, storms, cyclones, snow-storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, geothermal incidents, tsunamis, landslides, and lahar.1 Climate-related risks are expected to
be exacerbated by climate change.
New Zealand has demonstrated over a long period of time that normative frameworks relating to prevention and preparedness are a necessary part of systematic efforts to increase resilience to disasters.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, June 2014