As I write this column, communities in the Wellington and Bay of Plenty regions are cleaning up following flooding and strong winds last week. 

The Wellington region, particularly the Kapiti Coast and Hutt Valley, received torrential rain for much of Thursday 14 May, and later that evening a tornado struck Mt Maunganui.

Our own individual emergency preparedness was put to the test when Wellington road conditions meant some MCDEM staff faced a challenging journey home, or in some cases couldn’t make it home for the night at all.

While no states of local emergency were declared on this occasion, the severe weather was a reminder that floods continue to be New Zealand’s number one hazard in terms of frequency, losses and number of states of local emergency declared. 

Watch out for a full report on the North Island severe weather event in next month’s Impact magazine.

As we are all aware, major earthquakes can also have devastating consequences for our communities. What we do now will determine what our lives will be like afterwards.

With this in mind, New Zealand ShakeOut, our national earthquake drill, is taking place at 9:15am, 15 October 2015. As of today, over 21,000 people have signed up at www.shakeout.govt.nz to take part in the drill. Our aim is to have 1.5 million participate. We need your help! Get on board and engage in the planning and promotion process, and encourage as many of your stakeholders and people in your own communities to take part. Ideas on how to do this are outlined in this e-bulletin.

There’s also plenty going on in the tsunami risk management space. As well as joining commemorations for the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System last month, MCDEM staff have been involved in a number of recent meetings with Australian colleagues around public alerting and tsunami risk management. The relationship with Australia is important, and with these and other areas of common interest, the relationship continues to grow stronger.

Sarah Stuart-Black
Director CDEM

This month’s earthquake and aftershocks near Wanaka provided a good test of the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) emergency response systems.

When the shaking stopped after the shallow magnitude 5.8 earthquake, QLDC activated the Emergency Operations Centre to monitor and assess the impact on the community and critical infrastructure around the district.

Afterwards, the Council ran a series of earthquake information sessions for staff in each of its five offices to address some knowledge gaps about the right actions to take during and after an earthquake.

QLDC Communications Manager and PIM Michele Poole said that many Council staff were from overseas and other parts of New Zealand, and some had not experienced a significant earthquake before.

“We found that many of our staff were looking for guidance on what to do; how to help library patrons, swimmers and other visitors to our facilities; and how they could be better prepared at work and at home.”

QLDC has registered to take part in New Zealand ShakeOut and is reinforcing the Drop, Cover and Hold message to staff and the community, along with Get Thru preparedness tips.

Article contributed by Michele Poole
Communications Manager, Queenstown-Lakes District Council

An action plan to protect Tangimoana from the impact of flooding has been put to the test by Horizons Regional Council.

The Tangimoana settlement was inundated with floodwaters in 2004 and as a result substantial improvements to flood defenses were given a high priority. 

Horizons group manager operations Allan Cook said those improvements were completed in 2010-12 and now protect the settlement from a 1 in 50 year flood.

“Part of these works included the construction of a new stopbank to prevent floodwaters from being forced back up the old river loop and estuary into Tangimoana,” Mr Cook said.

“As the new stopbank runs across Tangimoana Beach Road, a removable flood gate was included in the design to be erected once floodwaters reach a certain level. However, the prevention of floodwaters from entering the settlement from the downstream end poses a problem if a flood over the design standard of 1 in 50 year level overtops or breaches a stopbank further up-river.”

Mr Cook said that in that situation floodwaters would pond within the settlement to a greater depth than in previous flood events.

“For that reason, we have developed a flood action plan that ensures emergency contingency measures are taken at the appropriate time. Those measures include the deliberate breaching of a section of the stopbank near Tangimoana Beach Road, if necessary, to allow for an outlet of floodwater before it’s able to pond.

“The exercise we undertook recently successfully tested parts of that action plan,” Mr Cook said.

Read the full story plus photos in June 2015 Impact Magazine.

Article contributed by Ally Koehler
Media and Communications Manager, Horizons Regional Council

On 25 April 2015, with the sun breaking over the cool dawn, the two Auckland Local Emergency Response Teams (ALERT’s) NZ-RT 3 and NZ-RT 5 paid tribute to those members of our armed forces who have served, sacrificed, or fought for our great nation at the ANZAC ceremonies. 

Fifteen volunteers from the two teams felt honoured to show their respect to our ANZACs by marching onto the court of honour in front of the cenotaph at the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s dawn service.

The origins of Civil Defence in New Zealand dates back to mid-1930 with the Emergency Precaution Scheme (EPS). The aim was for public safety from natural disasters, for example Napier earthquake, and the looming threat of World War One.  With the Zeppelin bombings in London during World War One, the fear of bombings and gas attacks was all too real for most New Zealanders.  From this basic beginning has developed today’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) general rescue manual and NZ Response Teams.

The sacrifices made at home and at the fronts to sustain and support the war effort in both World Wars helped shape and form New Zealand as we are today.  We don’t get many opportunities to celebrate our proud history, and to thank the contributions made by all those involved.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum’s dawn service was one of the largest attended on ANZAC day with an estimated 30,000 people present.  The ALERT’s are proud and honoured to have the opportunity to pay their respects in such a meaningful way.

Article contributed by Paul Read
Emergency Management Advisor, Auckland Council
 

Auckland CDEM Training Calendar for 2015 includes three “ACES Engage” sessions which are an opportunity for the Auckland Council Emergency Support (ACES) staff to build on and practise their skills from ITF Foundation Training and Function Workshop learning, in a brief table top exercise.

The first of these sessions was held on 1 May with a focus on the Intelligence function. 

ACES were invited to register and the session was held in the Bledisloe ECC.  Exercise ‘Surf’s Up’ was based on a tsunami and participants were divided into teams.  Each team was asked to work through an ‘information source’, such as media, core intelligence, including stakeholder updates, agency Situation Reports (SITREPS) and analytics including field reports.

Teams had to work together to identify where and how to verify information and then extract the relevant intelligence to populate a SITREP.  These were reviewed by the Planning and Intelligence Manager with key points covered in an overall summary.

Feedback from ACES was positive with comments such as:

• “It was valuable learning to work through the different info sources identifying which ones were relevant and useful for writing our Situation Report.”

• “All valuable, looking at the various sources of information and determining their relevance and veracity.”

• “Creating the SITREP under time constraint with live injects gave me a sense of what it could really be like.”

We have also learnt where we can improve the session with feedback comments such as:

• “Provide hand-outs with the process to follow and roles.”

• “It would have been good to have received a detailed critique of our group SITREP.”

Article contributed by Stephanie James
Senior Training and Capability Advisor, Auckland Council

On 27 April there was a heavy fuel oil leak in the Tauranga Harbour.

Staff from the Bay of Plenty Group Emergency Management Office (GEMO) supported the Bay of Plenty Regional Council response operation.

Jim Tetlow from the Eastern Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management stepped into the role of Regional On-Scene Commander (ROSC) for several days. Other team members undertook operations, logistics, planning, intelligence and administrative roles in the Incident Command Centre (ICC).

Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff team worked hard with multiple agencies including Department of Conservation and Maritime NZ as well as iwi representatives, local residents, science advisors and private stakeholders. Staff have not only put in long hours supporting the ICC but have also been on site involved in clean-up operations (two staff members even went up in a helicopter and complete aerial site assessments).

The response has proved to be quite complex with oil being located at a number of sites, as well as several culturally sensitive areas including an urupa.

The event was a valuable opportunity for emergency management staff to put their skills to use and also gain some new practical experience which we can learn from and implement into plans for future events.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, Environment Canterbury, James Thompson, Allan Grigg, and Alicia Palmer for their support during Cyclone Pam, which was hot on the tail of a peat fire we were dealing with. A thank you also to John Foley, Chris Hayles from Marlborough and the Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer for the Chatham’s from Porirua, Peter Chapman.

Your assistance and support, before during and after the cyclone was appreciated by me, the team, Council and the Island community. We plan for the worst and hope for the best and try to get through without loss of life or injury, everything else can be dealt with as time and safety allows. I was lucky enough to get support in before Pam hit which opened up another resource we had only spoken about previously. 

I would also like to thank the Hon Nikki Kaye, Minister of Civil Defence, for your support when visiting the Island. There is a great deal of follow-up work to be done and we appreciate the time and effort.

Sadly by the end of Cyclone Pam I had to hand the Controller position over to His Worship the Mayor, Alfred Preece, which allowed me to spend the last days with my sister who since passed away.

I did not get the opportunity to thank all those who helped and supported during the fires and Cyclone Pam nor for the lovely words of support and flowers that were sent.

From me and my whanau we thank you all.

The Southland Lifelines Utilities group has completed a Regions Lifelines Vulnerability study. 

Part of the work in that study was to have available an online mapping system that members of the Lifelines Group could use to map those vulnerabilities.

Initially the mapping was built and hosted by an outside provider but more recently the viewer has been brought in house and placed on an Environment Southland based server.  This transition has meant that the accessibility and ability to update the Lifelines components as they change has become easier.

One of the benefits of this system is that the critical asset co-location sites become very obvious when the various layers of the map are highlighted.  Any issues in these areas then become critical to the Controller and team during an emergency.

Above is a screenshot of the online map showing high voltage power lines into Invercargill.  Specifically highlighted is the twin 220kva pylon lines that run from Manapouri power station to Invercargill.

The website has restricted access but is available to all Lifelines organisation and they are encouraged to use it as planning tool. So far the feedback has been very positive.

Article contributed by Craig Sinclair
Emergency Management Southland

Auckland Council in conjunction with GNS Science have developed a Natural Hazard Risk Communications Toolbox. The purpose of this toolbox is to increase understanding of basic hazard and risk concepts by providing consistent content for communication materials used within council and externally to stakeholders, politicians and the community.

Staff from across the Council’s teams work with a wide range of people on various aspects of natural hazard and/or risk management. The benefit of adopting common terminology and definitions provided by this toolbox can help to foster a better understanding of somewhat complex terminology when communicating natural hazard and risk information.

The toolbox contains written and visual materials to describe frequently used natural hazard risk management concepts.

Some of the concepts include definitions for resilience, cumulative and cascading hazards, consequence, and hazard vs risk.

For each concept the following information is provided; brief text explanations; more detailed explanations; visual representation (i.e. graphic images) and; Auckland case study (where possible).

The toolbox was created due to staff identifying common issues when it comes to communicating natural hazard and risk information. Many of the terms used for natural hazard management are highly technical or abstract in nature, and supposing subject matter expertise, making the exchange of information difficult at times. Some terms are used interchangeably whether or not they have the same or a different meaning, or they are used in the wrong context, creating misunderstanding among different audiences.

With these issues in mind, the toolbox aims to provide staff with the appropriate means to communicate natural hazard information in all its forms. It provides one set of definitions which can be used to create a shared understanding within council, creating a consistent and integrated approach to communicating natural hazard risk management.

Auckland Council and MCDEM have been working closely together since the creation of the toolbox, as it has potential benefits for use by other councils and organisations within the CDEM and hazard management sectors.

The toolbox is available on the MCDEM website here - http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/resources/natural-hazard-risk-communication-toolbox/

Article contributed by Brodie Rafferty
Hazards Advisor, Auckland Council
 

New Zealand ShakeOut is a national earthquake drill taking place at 9:15am, 15 October 2015. It’s a chance for everyone in New Zealand to practise the right action to take during an earthquake – Drop, Cover and Hold.

The Minister of Civil Defence, Hon Nikki Kaye, officially launched the New Zealand ShakeOut campaign on Tuesday 28 April.

Individuals, families, households, schools and preschools, businesses and other organisations can all sign up to take part at www.shakeout.govt.nz It only takes two minutes and the website has lots of tips for doing the drill and being prepared.

We have also put together participation guidelines for CDEM groups, sent to group managers last month. Use it to get involved in New Zealand ShakeOut, and promote it through your organisations and share with your networks and communities. Visit the website at www.shakeout.govt.nz/resources to download your copy. It’s really important that we’re all on the same page, and promote the key ShakeOut messages in a consistent way. These guidelines will provide you with tips and tricks to help you ShakeOut!

The guidelines cover:

• New Zealand ShakeOut in a nutshell
• How to plan for and promote New Zealand ShakeOut in your region
• National Communications and Marketing Plan overview
• Resources for you to use
• Sample Emergency Preparedness Awareness Programme
• Planning template
• Frequently asked questions

Meanwhile, we were extremely fortunate to have Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Richard Taylor feature in the first New Zealand ShakeOut online video. The video was released on the NZ Get Thru Facebook page and NZ Get Thru YouTube channel on the day of the launch and has already reached over 60,000 people on Facebook. If you haven’t seen it already, watch it on YouTube by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ3AMx9a5jU and share it through your own social media channels.

More online videos, featuring a range of prominent New Zealanders in various locations are planned, and will be released throughout the campaign, so watch this space!

New Zealand ShakeOut Coordinators
Bridget Cheesman and Jamie Shaw, MCDEM
shakeout@dpmc.govt.nz

Photo above: Attendees at the International Tsunami Symposium held in Hawaii in April to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.

In April 2015, a New Zealand delegation participated in an International Tsunami Symposium in Hawaii to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS), and a subsequent meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) of the PTWS. The ICG was hosted by the USA and attended by 107 participants from 28 member states of the PTWS.

The New Zealand delegation was made up of staff from the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) and GNS Science.

They presented a report to the ICG which outlined tsunami-related work and activities in New Zealand since 2013. As well as outlining New Zealand’s tsunami response procedures and reporting on recent responses, the report also describes activities in relation to tsunami risk management in New Zealand since 2013.

The ICG meeting recognised the leadership of  Dr Ken Gledhill of GNS Science who chaired the PTWS over the last four years. At the end of the meeting Dr Gledhill handed the Chair over to Filomena Nelson (NDMO Samoa). Dr Gledhill was subsequently elected as the Chair of the inter-sessional working group for Tsunami Detection, Warning and Dissemination, and David Coetzee (MCDEM) was re-elected as Chair of the inter-sessional working group on Disaster Management, Preparedness and Risk Reduction.

A copy of New Zealand’s report to the 26th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System can be viewed on the Ministry’s website by visiting http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/publications/ICG-PTWS-XXVI-NZ-National-Report.pdf

Without clear, timely and appropriate communication, even the best emergency response will be judged harshly by your community.

This year’s Emergency Media & Public Affairs (EMPA) Disaster Communications Conference brings together practitioners from the public and private sector; emergency managers and communications professionals to discuss and share the challenges of communicating during the most difficult of times.

The two-day event includes keynote presentations on communications issues ranging from pandemics, public alerting and adverse weather events to lifelines, biosecurity threats and the implications for the emergency management sector of the fast-changing media environment.

EMPA Auckland – Heritage Hotel – July 30-31
Cost $880 or $720 for groups of three or more. Includes all sessions and conference dinner
www.empa.org.au/site/conferences_nz.htm
 

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management’s Public Information Management workshop was held at the Holiday Inn, Auckland airport on 21 and 22 April 2015.

There was a fantastic turnout including representation from GNS Science and Ministry of Social Development, with participants travelling from a range of locations.

Participant engagement was high and the mood enthusiastic as participants enjoyed presentations from experienced Public Information Managers, social media experts, Auckland City Council ECC, NZ Police and the media, as well as participating in an exercise.

Thanks again to all the participants and presenters who made the workshop enjoyable! Watch this space for information about the next PIM workshop to be held in Wellington in November 2015.

Article contributed by Aimee Flanagan
Capability Development Advisor, MCDEM

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management’s Exercise Writing and Management Course was held in Auckland on 12 and 13 May 2015.

Course participants attended from all over New Zealand and multiple agencies were represented on the course, including Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, District Health Boards, Search and Rescue and Canterbury University.

The course took participants through the Director’s Guideline on CDEM Exercises (http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/publications/dgl-10-09-cdem-exercises.pdf) and resulted in participants developing a mini exercise in small groups.

By the end of the course participants were able to demonstrate and apply knowledge and skills in the four areas of exercise development (see graphic).

MCDEM will look to run this course again in early 2016 as part of the lead-up to the 2016 national tier 4 tsunami exercise.

Article contributed by Jo Guard
Team Leader National Operations, MCDEM

Photo: Participants engage in group work during the Exercise Writing and Management Course held in Auckland on 12 and 13 May 2015. From left to right: Claire Nyberg (Northland Regional Council), Dave Greenberg (New Zealand Search and Rescue), Deborah FitzPatrick (Auckland Regional Public Health) and Chris Wilkins (Auckland Council) assisted by course facilitators Jo Guard and Sara Leighton (MCDEM).

New Zealand Red Cross has launched Leading in Disaster Recovery: Companion through the Chaos, a book for leaders working in disaster recovery.

Red Cross Strategy and Government Relations Manager, Elizabeth McNaughton, who co-authored the book says its motivation came from working during the Canterbury earthquakes. 

“We realised nothing existed about leading while recovering from a disaster. Manuals for recovery programming and leadership in general abound.  But leading in disaster recovery is a different experience – it is relentless, workloads are enormous, exhaustion sets in, you are making decisions constantly between competing priorities all while trying to imagine the future in a rapidly changing environment – and this continues for years.”

New Zealand Red Cross and a researcher from Stanford University interviewed more than 100 people from New Zealand and around the world. Leaders they spoke to had worked during the Haiti earthquake, Japanese Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Australian bushfires.

The Companion shares the leaders’ hard-won wisdom, practical strategies and tools for people who find themselves in any sort of leadership role during a disaster.

The book is already in use by Red Cross teams in Vanuatu following Tropical Cyclone Pam and in Nepal after the latest devastating earthquake.

“Leaders both around the world and in Christchurch found the experience of sharing their stories with us very meaningful. The people who have used the book say they feel relief when they are connected to other leaders who really ‘get it’.  The book will be their companion through the chaos that is a disaster. It is what we wished for when starting out on the recovery of Christchurch,” Ms McNaughton says.

New Zealand Red Cross is part of the International Federation of Red Cross, the largest humanitarian network in the world. The Red Cross reaches more than 150 million people through 189 Red Cross National Societies through the work of over 17 million volunteers.

The Companion can be downloaded for free by following this link - www.preparecenter.org/resources/leading-in-disaster-recovery

Fifteen nominated young people from the Kawakawa and Moerewa communities are about to get a hands-on insight into the work of emergency services.

Northland last year became one of the first regions to roll out Youth in Emergency Services (YES). This national programme is designed to strengthen the connection between young people and their communities, and is funded by the Ministry of Youth Development.

Aged between 15 and 18, the young people taking part in this year’s programme were nominated for the programme by local schools, iwi and social services.

They will spend five weekends experiencing the work of key emergency services including St John, Red Cross, NZ Fire, Rural Fire, NZ Police and Civil Defence.

The programme begins on Saturday May 02 and culminates in a ‘combined services’ exercise based around a disaster scenario on the weekend of June 06.

Participants will be honoured at a formal graduation and will also be offered the opportunity to volunteer for two months with the emergency service of their choice.

As well as encouraging a more active participation in their local communities, the programme helps participants develop useful practical skills as well as encouraging them to volunteer.

Councillor Paul Dimery, a former police officer and the Northland Regional Council’s representative on the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, says YES can provide a pathway to further involvement in the emergency services field, either as a volunteer or as part of a paid career.

“It also enables a greater appreciation from the communities themselves about the value and contribution their young people can make,” he says.

Some of the participants in last year’s programme went on to become emergency services volunteers and will return to this year’s programme in the role of ambassadors.

Media Release, Northland Emergency Management Group
28 April 2015

National Volunteer Week (NVW) 2015 will run from 21 to 27 June.

NVW is a fantastic chance to celebrate the invaluable knowledge, skill and time contributions given by Aotearoa’s past and present volunteers.

This year’s theme is ‘There is a place for you to volunteer’, which highlights the diversity of volunteer opportunities and the impact they have.

Throughout NVW, New Zealanders recognise the critical impact all kinds of volunteering have within communities.

Volunteers should be appreciated, mobilised, motivated and encouraged during this week and indeed year-round.

It is important to celebrate volunteerism and the place it has in keeping our communities strong and healthy.

Volunteer-involving organisations can use NVW 2015 to thank their volunteers and encourage more people to join their volunteer communities.

Through NVW we also want to encourage those who have not yet found their place in the volunteer community to seek it out and be aware that contributions can be both big and small.

Regardless of how much or how little skills, time and experience one has to offer, there will always be a place to volunteer. 

For more information, promotional posters and volunteer certificates visit www.volunteeringnz.org.nz/national-volunteer-week

Article contributed by Erin Brown
Communications Coordinator, Volunteering New Zealand
 

Massey University and Joint Centre for Disaster Research Associate Professor Sarb Johal and Business Development Manager, Jon Mitchell, had the pleasure of taking an active part in the first Army Lessons Learned Conference, at Devonport Navy Base on 9 and 10 April. 

The conference was focused on defence force preparation for humanitarian responses, and learning lessons from recent deployments in disaster relief and related contexts.

Attendees included representatives from a range of New Zealand agencies, as well as from Australia, Canada, Japan, Qatar, United Kingdom and the USA.

Topics covered included:

• NZ Army Response to Christchurch Earthquake 2011
• Fires and Floods in Australia.  Preparing, Planning and learning from HADR Operations
• US Pacific Command HADR Planning
• Japanese Land Self Defence Force Response to Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster
• Preparation for Deployment to Ebola Crisis, Sierra Leone, UK Troops

Massey University, through both the Joint Centre for Disaster Research and the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, plays a key role in build knowledge and capability within NZ defence forces, related organisations, and the wider emergency management community. 

This conference was an opportunity to provide a link across numerous spheres and to foster enhanced cooperation the future.

Article contributed by Jon Mitchell
Research Manager (Business Development), Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University

Massey University’s entry-level Emergency Management qualification is now available partially block taught in Wellington this year.  If you enrol in the Graduate Certificate now you will be able to benefit from the shared learning experience of block courses, adding value to the successful on-line programme.

Core papers in the qualification are available in the second semester this year.  Enrolments close on 24 June and the semester starts on 13 July.

130.201 Introduction to (Civil Defence) Emergency Management in New Zealand
Block components: 20 to 22 July and 7 to8 September.  Exam late October

130.301 Incident Command Systems
Block components: 27 to 29 July and 14 to 15 September.  Exam late October

Information on the Grad Cert is at: 
http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/programme-course-paper/programme.cfm?prog_id=93494
 

Bay of Plenty CDEM Group Operational Readiness Manager
More information available at http://www.bfound.net/detail.aspx?jobId=129436&CoId=158&rq=8
Applications close Friday 22 May 2015

Bay of Plenty CDEM Group Planning and Development Manager
More information available at http://www.bfound.net/detail.aspx?jobId=129445&CoId=158&rq=4
Applications close Friday 22 May 2015

Bay of Plenty CDEM Group Natural Hazards Advisor
More information available at http://www.bfound.net/detail.aspx?jobId=129562&CoId=158&rq=2
Applications close Friday 29 May 2015

Otago CDEM Group Manager/Controller
More information available at http://www.orc.govt.nz/About-us-and-the-Region/Jobs-vacancies/Otago-Civil-Defence-Emergency-Management-Group-ManagerController/
Applications close on Monday 25 May 2015.

GNS Science Hazard & Risk Management Researcher
More information available at http://gns.cri.nz/Home/Careers
Applications close Friday 29 May 2015