This month has been an extremely wet one for the Bay of Plenty and we are sure everyone is ready for spring to really kick in and some warmer weather. In the meantime the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group have been busy engaging with partner agencies and community groups. We hope you enjoy this month's update from the team! New resource for oil spill response!A new multipurpose vessel was added to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s maritime fleet this month and on the 15th August was blessed by local kaumatua. The ‘Awanui’ was acquired in response to recent high profile oil spills in the Bay of Plenty however is designed to be multi-purpose and can perform tasks such as routine navigational aid maintenance and removing navigational hazards from the harbour, as well as general patrolling and other tasks. The vessel was named in memory of the late Bay of Plenty Regional Council Councillor Awanuiarangi Black.
Photo: Director Emergency Management Bay of Plenty , Clinton Naude CEM with Tauranga Harbour Master, Peter Buell beside the new vessel Awanui. Emergency Management Bay of Plenty provide support and assistance to the Regional Council during an oil spill response and several members of the team are part of Maritime New Zealand’s National Oil Spill Response Team. This month, Emergency Management Bay of Plenty, Manager of Planning and Development Matt Harrex, was appointed as a Regional On-Scene Commander (ROSC). Photo: Matt Harrex, Manager Planning and Development, Emergency Management Bay of Plenty recently appointed Regional On-Scene Commander by Maritime New Zealand. Whakatāne Business and Leisure Show!On the 18th, 19th and 20th of August the Emergency Management Bay of Plenty team hosted a Civil Defence display at the Whakatāne Business and Leisure Show in Whakatāne. The annual event is a fixture on the Whakatane District Council calendar and provides a unique opportunity to engage with local residents to promote hazard awareness and preparedness. This year saw a fantastic turn out and over 100 people took part in our competition to win a Grab and Go bag, won by Erica Herangi (below).
Photo: Emergency Management Advisor Meagan Edhouse with Erica Herangi (winner of the Grab and Go bag at the Whakatāne Business & Leisure Show) Emergency Media and Public Affairs awardThis month, the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group were honoured to receive an award for Excellence in Communication: Readiness and Resilience from Emergency Media and Public Affairs (EMPA). The award recognises the great work that has been put into the development of our suite of Community Resilience tools including the Marae Emergency Preparedness Planning and Community Response Planning toolkits, the Community Resilience Strategy and Marae Emergency Preparedness Planning Implementation Plan. The award was presented to Emergency Management Bay of Plenty at the EMPA conference in Wellington this August. EMPA is an international not-for-profit organisation which aims to benchmark excellence and best practice in the field of emergency media and public affairs. We would like to extend a huge thanks to all our partner agencies and communities who have contributed to the development of these resources. Photo: The Emergency Management Bay of Plenty, Community Resilience Team: Naomi Luckett, Angela Reade, Meagan Edhouse and Rupana Keno (from left to right) with the suite of Community Resilience resources and EMPA award. Date of Importance:Get Ready Week – 9th to 15th October nationwideGet Ready Week is held every year to mark the United Nations International Day for Disaster Reduction. The week is an opportunity to focus on preparedness activities and this year the theme is ‘Stay Safe, Stay Informed’ Visit: http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/public-education/get-ready-week/ for more information Bay of Plenty and Waikato Lifelines ForumThis month members of the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group attended the Waikato & Bay of Plenty annual joint Lifeline and Utility Forum. The forum is an annual gathering of the lifeline and utility communities from the Bay of Plenty and Waikato and this year the theme was “Expect the Unexpected”. A range of speakers presented their thoughts on the challenges that infrastructure and lifelines faced in recent events, and how these challenges were overcome. The recent Kaikoura earthquake presented an opportunity to discuss the management of public risk and public expectation with respect to the opening of the alternative inland route (given State Highway One was impassable). The Bay of Plenty’s April events, including the Edgecumbe flooding, also provided a platform to discuss how the Lifelines community integrates into a Civil Defence led response. A number of academics also presented on their research, some of which included the development of new predictive models for anticipating lifelines damage in an event. This year’s forum was hosted by the Waikato Lifelines Group and we would like to extend a huge thanks for their hospitality and excellent coordination of the forum. Photo: Jono Meldrum, Manager of Operations, Emergency Management Bay of Plenty discusses Lifelines in the Response. Preparedness tip: Can't get homeIn an emergency trains and buses may not be able to operate, roads may be closed and streets or neighbourhoods might be blocked off. If you can’t take your normal route home, how will you get there? Who will you go with? Where will you meet up if your street is a no-go zone? Alternate meeting placeAgree on a meeting place if you can’t get home. It might be the school, a friend’s place, or with whānau. Travel togetherIf you work away from home, find workmates who live in your area. In an emergency you could travel together. Pack a getaway bagHave a getaway bag at work or in your car, with walking shoes, warm clothes, some snack food and a bottle of water. A torch, batteries and radio are useful too. 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 |