15 July 2020

Welcome back to eBulletin!

As the COVID-19 response transitions into recovery, we can now resume monthly issues of eBulletin. We would like to give a huge thanks to all of you who were involved in New Zealand's extraordinary response to COVID-19.

If there are any stories that you would like to share with the sector, please send them to emergency.management@nema.govt.nz for our next issue of eBulletin. 

eBulletin is your regular source of emergency management news, information, case studies, best practice, research and reports.

Take a moment to find out the latest and celebrate successes from our sector.

NEMA News

NEMA is recruiting for new key leadership roles

The recruitment for two newly established key leadership roles at NEMA has begun. The Manager, System Capability and Manager, National Operations roles provide a unique opportunity to be part of the leadership of the emergency management system in New Zealand. 

The Manager, System Capability role works collaboratively with partners to identify, design and implement strategies that will build the capability of the emergency management system across New Zealand. The role is also accountable for the development and delivery of a range of current and future learning and development products.

The Manager, National Operations role leads the operational systems, arrangements, facilities and infrastructure for NEMA and the New Zealand emergency management system. This includes the operational management of the National Crisis Management Centre. Furthermore, when delegated, the Manager, National Operations will perform the statutory role of National Controller.

If think you are - or know - the right person for one of these roles, please do not hesitate to apply or pass on the job listing. You can find links to both of these roles, and others across the CDEM sector on the NEMA website. 

Sign up for New Zealand ShakeOut 2020

Over 300,000 people have already signed up to take part in this year’s New Zealand ShakeOut, our national earthquake drill and tsunami hīkoi.

On 15 October at 9:30am, New Zealand will have the opportunity to learn and practise the correct actions to take during an earthquake and tsunami by participating in ShakeOut drill day.

Wherever you are during New Zealand ShakeOut, you can take part in the drill. Just Drop, Cover and Hold for up to one minute, and if you're in a coastal area practise your tsunami hīkoi.

If you have already signed up, share the ShakeOut. We have lots of resources you can use to encourage other to sign up. Download posters, factsheets, digital and social media resources and more. 

New Recovery Preparedness and Management Director's Guideline is now available

The importance of being prepared to support and empower communities to recover after an emergency means CDEM Groups need to make recovery preparedness a priority and resource it accordingly prior to an emergency occurring. This Director’s Guideline is focused at an operational level and links to strategic planning for recovery.

This Guideline supersedes the Recovery Management Director’s Guideline for CDEM Groups [DGL 4/05] and the Focus on Recovery: A Holistic Framework for Recovery in New Zealand Information for the CDEM Sector [IS 5/05].

CAP feed for Emergency Mobile Alert is now live 

Warning messages can be formatted in Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), a digital message format for exchanging all-hazard emergency alerts. New Zealand catalogued CAP as a standard for exchanging warnings in 2018.

The new CAP feed allows messages to be distributed by other systems that only need to be connected to the internet, so Emergency Mobile Alert life safety messages can get to people who are out of network coverage. NEMA are very keen for developers to enhance the reach of EMA by using this feed.

Whenever an Emergency Mobile Alert is issued, the same information is now made publicly available in two places: the RSS feed and the Atom feed. These URLs make the messages available to other systems to be re-used. This could be by smartphone apps, websites or other alerting hubs that use CAP as a basis. Your own agency may want to integrate the information into its website or apps.

Read more about the use of CAP and using CAP for EMA messages on the NEMA website. 

Canterbury earthquake resources find a permanent home

Lessons learned from the Canterbury earthquakes will be shared widely and preserved for the future when a collection of reports and information moves to a new digital home.

The Government’s Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Learning and Legacy Programme – which collected over 200 online items - is being transferred to the University of Canterbury’s CEISMIC - Canterbury Earthquakes Digital Archive.

The collection includes documents from a wide range of Government and non-government organisations such as The Ministry for Women, the Red Cross, the Earthquake Commission and the Human Rights Commission, as well as academic reports on how to respond to an emergency.

There are also copies of key Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) documents.

View the EQ Recovery Learning collection at UC CEISMiC.

2020 Edition of the New Zealand Critical Lifelines Infrastructure National Vulnerability Assessment

The New Zealand Lifelines Council has released the 2020 Edition of the New Zealand Critical Lifelines Infrastructure National Vulnerability Assessment.

The assessment aims to provide government, industry and communities with a better understanding of:

1. What is nationally significant infrastructure; and
2. Infrastructure vulnerability and its resilience to hazards.

The report is available now on the Lifelines reports and resources page on the NEMA website.

Sector Spotlights

What do you think of the draft 111 contact code? 

The Commerce Commission is seeking feedback on their draft 111 contact code.

Under the code, home phone customers on new technologies like fibre and fixed wireless, who have no other way of contacting 111 and who consider themselves as being at greater risk of needing to call 111, may qualify for extra support at no additional cost. 

It’s proposed these customers will be able to apply to their home phone provider to be supplied with an alternative way of contacting 111 at no cost and if they qualify, will have a backup provided by their provider in the event of a power cut.

The code also requires telecommunications providers regularly remind their customers that new technologies will not work in a power cut, how to protect themselves and what further support is available.

This short overview of the proposed code also suggests ways consumers can protect themselves.

Feedback on the 111 Contact Code is due 5pm, Friday 17 July 2020 and can be provided either by completing the online survey or by making a submission.

Vacancies

NEMA vacancies

• Manager, System Capability
• Manager, National Operations

CDEM sector vacancies

• Manager, Planning - Emergency Management Bay of Plenty
• Principal Advisor, Emergency Management - Emergency Management Bay of Plenty
• Advisor, Capability Development - Emergency Management Bay of Plenty
• Emergency Management Officer - Palmerston North City Council
• Emergency Management Advisor (Workforce Capability) - Hawke's Bay Regional Council

To list a Civil Defence Emergency Management sector role, please email the National Emergency Management Agency communications team. We'll include your listing on our website and in upcoming editions of e-Bulletin.

Got a story?

eBulletin provides newsworthy updates about Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) and related information from the sector. It is for people in the emergency management sector and/or those with an interest in emergency management. eBulletin shares news, information, case studies, best practice, research and reports, and celebrates successes.

Some topics for content include:

• upcoming events and activities
• information about responses to emergencies
• information about research (keeping in mind it is not a peer-reviewed journal)
• reports on what has been happening around the sector
• announcements of new publications and guides
• information about courses (ones you have been on and ones coming up), and
• celebrations of successes.