Emergencies in Tahiti

Good to Know

• Save 15 (medical/SAMU), 17 (police/gendarmerie), and 18 (fire) in your phone before you need them — there is no single catch-all number like 911 here.
• Outside Papeete, dialing 17 typically connects you to the gendarmerie rather than municipal police — this is normal, not a wrong number.
• If you're on a remote island with no hospital, first medical contact is often a 'Dispensaire' (a free government-run clinic); serious cases are usually evacuated to Tahiti/Papeete for treatment.
• 112 is sometimes listed for French Polynesia in generic directories, but government travel-advisory pages don't rely on it here — stick with 15/17/18 to be safe.
• Cyclone season runs November–April, but tropical storms and tsunamis (from distant earthquakes) can occur any time of year — it's worth knowing your accommodation's evacuation plan on arrival.
• CHPF (Centre Hospitalier de la Polynésie Française) in Pirae is the only hospital in Tahiti equipped for major trauma, surgery, and serious emergencies — for anything beyond minor issues, this is where you'll end up regardless of which clinic you first visit.
• France/French Polynesia does not use the US 'Level I/II/III trauma center' rating system, so no hospital here carries that specific designation — CHPF functions as the de facto top-tier referral hospital for the whole territory.
• The two private clinics (Cardella and Paofai) are useful for non-critical urgent care in central Papeete, but serious trauma, major surgery, or critical care cases are generally transferred to CHPF.
• The national emergency medical dispatch number is 15 (SAMU); this connects you to ambulance dispatch anywhere in French Polynesia.
• If you're on an outer island or motu, expect medical evacuation by plane or helicopter to Tahiti for anything serious — this is standard practice, not an emergency failure of the local system.