Cyclone response review essential
Not the first time our city has been rocked by natural disaster and, sadly, it won’t be the last
As we wind up the year and reflect on all 2023 has brought us, there is an obvious stand-out that delivered the most challenges: the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.
It’s an event that will have ongoing effects for our community, and many households, organisations and individuals are just now beginning to come to terms with the events of Tuesday, February 14.
It’s difficult to look back for many reasons but it’s also necessary. This is not the first time our city and its people have been rocked by a natural disaster and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last.
That’s why it’s vital that we review our response and learn as many lessons as possible from it.
One of the most useful reviews has been that carried out by Resilient Organisation Ltd, which completed an independent review of Napier City Council’s response during the cyclone.
From that piece of work we will be putting in place valuable recommendations about continuity of the services we provide and building improved resilience with and for our community.
To prepare the report, the reviewers considered lessons from the coordination of our own internal response. This included things such as crisis management and the activation of our business continuity.
It also looked at the external response, which included civil defence and emergency management.
Together the insights and observations held in the review are a very helpful tool for us and I welcome all that they offer.
The process has been very thorough and included a comprehensive review of all the documents from the response.
The reviewers conducted interviews with around 40 key staff who were involved in the response.
They also held workshops with other staff, external parties and elected members.
The aim of the review, although it is backwardlooking, is to help us prepare for the future.
It gives us learning that will improve our ability to build our resilience to a range of potential crisis situations.
During the review, participants who contributed their views, as well as the reviewers themselves, recognised that the particular impacts and effects of future events may differ to those experienced during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Some of the key recommendations from the review include improved training and greater resourcing for staff involved in civil defence responses, improved pre-planning of our welfare response, and working regionally to share knowledge and capability.
The review also recommends embedding monitoring and accountability provisions throughout our processes. This is vital.
It’s also an area we are already working hard to strengthen.
We have recently employed an experienced emergency management officer, who has started creating a work plan based on the recommendations from the review.
Cyclone Gabrielle had massive impacts on our community and continues to do so.
This review is a small but very significant step towards learning as much as possible from this devastating event to prepare us for whatever comes next.
You can read the full Napier City Council Response to Cyclone Gabrielle Independent Review at napier.govt. nz
Key recommendations ... include improved training and greater resourcing for staff involved in civil defence responses, improved pre-planning of our welfare response, and working regionally to share knowledge and capability
Kirsten Wise