Finally Spring seems to be in the air! Daylight savings has been and gone and there are more sunny days ahead! We have been busy planning for Get Ready Week (October 9th to 15th) working with partner agencies, stakeholders and communities to promote preparedness and how people can Stay Safe and Stay Informed, as well as continuing our work programme of events, training and emergency management. We hope everyone has more of a spring in their step and is starting to look forward to the holiday season. Get Ready Week 2017Get Ready Week is held every year to mark the United Nations International Day for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13th) and this year's theme is Stay Safe, Stay Informed. Get Ready Week starts in new Zealand on the 9th October and throughout the week the BOP CDEM Group will be promoting preparedness through a social media campaign and the provision of resources and information to our partner agencies and stakeholders. Emergencies can happen anywhere, any time, and without warning. Make sure you and the people you care about are ready to get through by knowing the different ways to stay informed. During the week we’ll be promoting the different ways people can stay informed during an emergency – which radio stations to listen to, which website and social media to follow, the importance of getting to know your neighbours and checking if you can receive Emergency Mobile Alerts (the new national alerting platform currently in development). You can find out more about Get Ready Week (as well as wide range of digital resources) here http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/public-education/get-ready-week/ Supporting Businesses in the BayThis month members of the Emergency Management Bay of Plenty (EMBOP) team attended the BOP Regional Business Market at Classic Flyers in Tauranga. The event was an opportunity for local businesses to get connected, promote their services and products as well as hear guest speakers providing a wealth of business advice and expertise. EMBOP were able to present a range of resources, information and advice to support businesses to consider business continuity and disaster preparedness. The event was well attended and a number of great connections were made with local businesses and organisations that support them (such as Chambers of Commerce, Tauranga Small Business Network and more) Emergency Management Advisor, Naomi Luckett at the Business Market Expo at Classic Flyers MBIE funding for caldera researchThe Caldera Advisory Group (of which Bay of Plenty CDEM Group are a part of) has been supporting a grant application to gain a greater understanding of the Taupo-Rotorua caldera complex and this month were informed the bid was successful. The project titled ECLIPSE (Eruption or Catastrophe ;Learning to Implement Preparedness for future Supervolcano Eruptions) will receive almost $8,250,000, over 5 years from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). New Zealand’s central North Island hosts a huge supervolcano system, the most active of its kind on Earth. This system becomes restive every few decades and erupts every few hundred years on average, sometimes in tiny events, and sometimes devastating much of the country. This system will reactivate in the future, to unrest or eruption, yet our understanding of what occurs in these events does not allow us to respond appropriately and there is the possibility of major panic. The research aims to reduce the uncertainty around future unrest or eruption and what makes this supervolcano system become restive or move into eruption, and consider the hazards and impacts of likely future eruptions in order to reduce the risk of an inappropriate response. The underground roots of the volcanic system through what it has erupted (pumice and ash) will be investigated to identify what conditions cause it to become restless or erupt. The research will attempt to identify a tipping point at which unrest becomes eruption, then build the knowledge into advice for monitoring the volcanic system in partnership with the GeoNet programme. This is an exciting project that the Caldera Advisory Group and BOP CDEM will benefit from extensively in terms of the knowledge it will provide. For more information contact colin.wilson@vuw.ac.nz Kawerau Woodfest Success!On Saturday September the 30th, the Emergency Management Bay of Plenty team attended Kawerau Woodfest. Kawerau has a long history as a mill town and the event celebrates all things wood! Approximately 12,000 people visit Kawerau during Woodfest week and the weekend provides a full day of attractions and entertainment. The event is a fabulous opportunity for EMBOP to engage with the local community and promote preparedness, local hazard information and encourage individuals to make a plan with family, friends and neighbours.
Welcome Bay Community GuideThis month the Welcome Bay Community Guide to Emergencies was finalised and 10,000 copies delivered to the Welcome Bay Community Centre for distribution into the community. The Community Guide to Emergencies serves to promote preparedness and hazard awareness in the community as well as let the community know how they can be a part of the Community Response Planning process currently underway. The guide (developed by the community response team) includes a local tsunami evacuation map, information on local hazards (including earthquake, tsunami, floods and volcanos), how families, households and individuals can be better prepared (including knowing their neighbours) as well as contact information for the local community response team. Guides have already been published for Otumoetai, Wright Road, Waihi Beach, Athenree and Bowentown, Katikati and Pukehina and currently in development for Omokoroa, Te Puna and Te Puke. Emergency Management Bay of Plenty are continuing to work with communities throughout the Bay of Plenty to establish Community Response Teams, develop and review Community Response Plans and develop processes to support communities to come together and support each other before, during and after emergency events. For more information about Community Response Planning email info@boprc.govt.nz Preparedness tip: No CommunicationIf the phone or internet lines were down how would you keep in touch, arrange to meet up, keep up with news and weather alerts In an emergency it's best to stay in your own home, so make your home your meeting place and have an alternate in case you can't get there Plan a meeting pointTalk to your family about how you will get in touch and where you will meet up if the phone lines and/or internet are down. If you have kidsIf you have kids, make sure you know the school/ day care's emergency plans and give the school names of three people who can pick up the kids if you can't get there Stay tuned inHave a solar or battery powered radio so you can keep up with the latest news and alerts. Know which radio stations to tune in to for information during an emergency. Out of town contactHave an out of town contact that everyone knows about (sometimes when local phone lines are down you can still reach people outside your area). Get everyone to check in with your out of town contact by text or online messaging in an emergency if you can. Keep a listKeep a written list of important phone numbers Hazard of the Month: LandslidesNew Zealand’s mountainous terrain, loose volcanic soils and frequent earthquake activity make landslides common in the Bay of Plenty. In addition, at this is the time of year when we traditionally experience heavy rain, the saturation of land means the risk of slips is heightened. A landslide is the movement of rock, soil and vegetation down a slope and can range in size from a single boulder in a rock fall, to a very large avalanche of debris with huge quantities of rock and soil that can be spread across many kilometers. Heavy rainfall or earthquakes can trigger landslides as well as human activity such as the removal of trees and plants, steep roadside cuttings or leaking water pipes. Some warning signs are: Small slips, rock falls and subsidence at the bottom of slopes Sticking doors and windows Gaps where frames are not fitting properly Outside fixtures such as steps or decks moving or tilting away from the house New cracks or bulges on the ground, road, footpath and other hard surfaces Tilting trees, retaining walls or fences Most landslides occur without warning therefore it is important to recognize the warning signs and act quickly. To find out more visit: www.BOPCivilDefence.govt.nz |