Solar-powered, Wind-up Radios for New Zealand’s Most Vulnerable Households.

Following the 2023 floods and cyclones that devastated New Zealand’s north and east, FEBC New Zealand has established a project to supply our signature emergency radios in susceptible communities. In and following the kinds of natural disasters New Zealand has experiences recently, having a reliable source of information is vital. Solar-powered, wind-up radios are a convenient way to stay informed when electrical power, the internet, and the mobile network is off.

Our “Clever Radios” have the following features:

• AM & FM receiver
• Solar-powered
• Wind-up powered
• Battery powered (3x AAA)
• can be plugged in
• LED torch
• a siren to alert for help
• a red beacon light
• a mobile phone charger (depends on the phone’s specific requirements. Not all phones will charge).

When you support the NZ Emergency Radio Project you are providing these vital radios to the most flood, cyclone, and earthquake prone communities in New Zealand.

Via a network of partner churches throughout the country, FEBC New Zealand will distribute boxes of emergency radios to places like Napier, Gisborne, Northland, Christchurch, Kaikoura and Buller District. In cooperation with Civil Defence and national and local authorities, we will prioritise the most important communities to supply. As the fund allows, we will donate radios for circulation based entirely on need.

Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 taught us that we need reliable sources of information and links to radio when disaster strikes. Our power grid and cell phone tower system has back-up resources for hours only, not days. Most households rely on the local power grid to supply their media devices. Cell towers and exchanges were badly compromised when the mains went down. Even cell towers that still had power could not connect to each other because the fibre optic cables that link them were broken by the landslips and floods.

A radio that needs no mains or internet supply is the best source of information in an emergency. One that doesn’t even rely on batteries is ideal. FEBC NZ has been supplying these radios (DE13) to New Zealanders since 2016, and there are more than 2600 in homes. They are available for private purchase via our online Shop, and for emergency aid distribution via this project.

Please click Donate, and choose from the drop-down menu: “NZ Emergency Radios” (or type “NZ emergency radios” in the comments section). Thank you.

For more information about this project and funding, please call Matt Perry, 0800 433 226.

Click the image above to open a downloadable A4 Civil Defence Checklist to help get you and your loved ones through an emergency.

[Flood picture credit, AFP via Aljazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/2/14/photos-new-zealand-declares-emergency-as-cyclone-gabrielle-eases]