Keeping community ready
Newly-appointed Taranaki Civil Defence regional manager Todd Velvin brings a mixed bag of experience to the role after working in adventure tourism and search and rescue.
Velvin has been acting regional manager for the past three months, stepping in after his predecessor Craig CampbellSmart moved on to become regional group recovery manager, and is also regional civil defence group controller.
Velvin said the new position was ‘‘wide-ranging, really two jobs in one’’.
His previous working experience includes adventure tourism in Queenstown on the Remarkables ski field, and with AJ Hackett Bungy, as well as alpine search and rescue and with the Mountain Safety Council. Born and bred in Taranaki, he has also been involved in maritime search and rescue, and surf life-saving as a member of the Fitzroy SLS Club.
‘‘Applying for the role as regional manager looked like a good fit from my previous work experience,’’ he said.
Velvin will lead the Taranaki Emergency Management Office (TEMO) of nine staff looking after areas including policy, public information and emergency management advisory.
‘‘It’s not a big staff, and small compared to other regions, and my job is to manage the team so there’s always plenty of work to do.’’
Velvin and his team’s task is to work under the four Rs of civil defence emergency – reduction, readiness, response and recovery – to lessen the impact on the community from a natural disaster.
The number one natural hazard in Taranaki is from the Taranaki Maunga volcano’s next eruption, he said.
Taranaki Maunga last erupted significantly in 1790, and residents may get little warning of the next eruption.
TEMO is working with Massey, Canterbury and Auckland Universities to understand more clearly the mountain structure and be more prepared when the next eruption happens.
TEMO staff and vulcanologists are gathering information on ash deposits from previous eruptions to gauge what sort of volcanic activity will take place, and more understanding of how the community can react and respond.
Ash clouds and lahars from an eruption pose the greatest threat to agriculture, transport, telecommunication and power supply in the region, he said. Keeping the community informed and ready for a civil emergency was pivotal. ‘‘As far as readiness and response goes to a civil defence emergency in Taranaki, we have a great team of volunteers and a good pool of resources in the region we can use,’’ he said. ‘‘Covid-19 was a good test for us to use our systems.’’