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2011 10 17
Proposed consultation: Companion Animal Emergency Welfare Planning Guideline
Waikato welfare centres receive training
NZ-RT5 scales the Klondyke
2011 North Island Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Conference
Working together to respond to an emergency
New CIMS material delayed
CDEM exercises update
CDEM Research
Interested in participating in CDEM exercise research in Wellington on 11th or 29th November?
CDEM Professional Development
e-Bulletin October 2011
As this bulletin goes out the nation is not only watching the build-up to the final of the Rugby World Cup but is also watching critically the work under way to limit the impact of the grounding of the container ship Rena on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga. The first event has an element of fun – alongside the more serious aspects of managing risks and being ready to cope with an emergency. The CDEM involvement in the World Cup preparations and monitoring situations daily has gone very well and I congratulate those who have been involved.
The situation with the ship Rena has many similarities with the CDEM involvement in the RWC. Maritime New Zealand is the lead agency and CDEM at the local, regional and national levels support their concept of operations. It is difficult to forecast the trajectory of an incident like the Rena. That is not too dissimilar to CDEM and natural hazard emergencies and, in these circumstances, thinking about the “what ifs” and planning for each contingency becomes crucial. Like the response to a civil defence emergency, preparation counts for much and, as a consequence of thorough planning, having the capacity available on stream to deal swiftly with any contingency that arises will help to minimise the impact.
Another similarity is that the response now and in the future involves activities by many partners including local government, departments and agencies at the national level, communities, interested stakeholder groups and the media. Success in these settings takes co-ordination and understanding, provision of expertise and advice to the decision-makers and clear divisions of responsibilities, and of course not forgetting an organisational structure in which these activities take place.
We in the CDEM sector are used to dealing with our sort of emergencies and, in managing those, being very well supported by our partners and colleagues from other areas and agencies. The Rena situation puts it around the other way for us: CDEM supports the operational responsibilities of another agency. To be effective our support has to be (and has to be seen to be) timely and co-operative and displaying willingness, skilfulness and tenacity.
The Rena incident has tremendous implications for the communities nearby. I know they will get the same fulsome attention in these circumstances as they would if it had been the impact of a flood, storm or an earthquake.
John Hamilton
Director
Urgent request - consultation participation: Planning for companion animal welfare
Feedback on this draft Director's guideline will soon be sought. MCDEM is requesting CDEM representatives (from both local and Group levels) to participate in the consultation process. Please contact your CDEM Group Office Manager and/or Regional Emergency Management Advisor to indicate your interest by Tuesday 25 October.
The Companion Animal Emergency Welfare Planning Director's Guideline is intended for use by CDEM Groups and organisations with responsibilities for companion animal welfare during emergencies.
The purpose of the guideline is to provide guidance to emergency management planners in the development, maintenance and review of a functional plan for companion animal emergency welfare. The guideline contains an operational structure and functional arrangements along with practical advice and templates to support the delivery of companion animal emergency welfare in New Zealand.
The guideline has been developed by the National Animal Welfare Emergency Management Liaison Group (NAWEM). The development process has been a collaborative effort between members of NAWEM with input from Group and local CDEM representatives and other organisations with an interest in animal welfare.
For more information please contact
Waikato welfare centres receive training
During SeptemberWaikatoValley Emergency Operating Area (WVEOA) delivered welfare centre staff and supervisor training to 33 council staff from Hamilton City Council, Waikato District Council, Waipa District Council and South Waikato District Council. Training sessions were held over two days.
Training was facilitated by Emergency Management Officers Shaun Libeau and Chris Hattingh along with support from Local Controller, Paul Blewman. The events in Christchurch emphasised the importance of the welfare function to the Waikato welfare team. This was evident in the high level of motivation displayed by staff whereby people were getting involved; interacting and enjoying the sessions which, in the past, have not fully engaged staff.
Training sessions covered welfare centre fundamentals, operations, supervision, dealing with people with disabilities, communications, planning and radio communications (RT).
“The best part of the exercise was seeing the change in the delivery of the training from what it was, to what it is now – a fun-filled session with lots of interaction and laughter which is a sign of a great training environment that produces excellent results. My experience working in numerous welfare centres throughout Christchurch in February has changed the way we delivered this training” said Shaun Libeau.
During September, Shaun Libeau and volunteer Mike Bowen also took part in the Oraeroa Marae Whanau Resilience Day at Port Waikato. Organised by the Pukekohe Huakina Development Trust, with support from local agencies, local government and emergency services, the event was a “one stop shop” where approximately 200 people received important community information, including public preparedness material such as Get Ready Get Thru booklets, reusable shopping bags and What’s the Plan Stan? drink bottles.
Shaun said the event was a huge success for civil defence and was encouraged to see local whanau making a positive move towards better preparing themselves for an emergency – the first step towards resilience.
At the end of the day, Huakina Development Trust gave away an Ultimate Survival Kit in the free raffle.
NZ-RT5 scales the Klondyke
On 18 September the Auckland-based NZ-RT5 response team undertook skilled height work on the KlondykeRadioTower in the Franklin region, replacing three aging antenna cables on the tower. The 45 metre tower provides important backup emergency communications, and is primarily used for amateur radio communications.
Specialist height work (including qualified rope rescue) is one of the many skills of NZ-RT5. They train to professional standards as a light rescue team under Civil Defence and undertake a broad variety of work within the wider Auckland community, in addition to their core focus of disaster response, any time their particular skills may be required.
2011 NorthIsland Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Conference
Finding the Balance: Personal Responsibility, Statutory Obligation
Auckland is hosting the annual North Island CDEM conference this year at Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre. The conference is over two days, Monday 21 November to Tuesday 22 November and will feature a number of keynote speakers from New Zealand and Australia.
For those who wish to arrive early and take advantage of the weekend in their travel plans, conference organisers are offering a tour of the Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve on Monday morning. The Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve an important archaeological site where you can see clearly how people used to live and interact with their environment. The volcanic deposits give very clear insights into what we can expect to occur in a volcanic event from the Auckland volcanic field.
If you want to attend and wish to stay at the Waipuna Hotel the accommodation needs to be booked by Thursday 27 October.
For more information including registration please go to or email
Working together to respond to an emergency
When the Bay of Plenty’s Regional Harbour Master was woken just after 2am on Wednesday 5 October 2011 with the news that a container ship had grounded on the Astrolabe Reef, he knew that the community could be facing one of the most significant environmental emergency situations in its history. He also knew that the team at Bay of Plenty Regional Council was well-prepared for the urgent response required.
By 6:30am Maritime New Zealand had declared a Tier 3 Oil Spill response, and the Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) staff had already started setting up a temporary Incident Command Centre in MountMaunganui.
Since that time, staff from all areas of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council have helped in the response effort, including emergency management, science and engineering experts, human resources, communications, IT, logistics, planning and administration support.
All of the Regional Council’s equipment has been made available to the team. This includes the boats in the water monitoring the exclusion zone and keeping unauthorised vessels away from the area, as well as booms, pumps, absorbent pads and anything else requested.
While the response effort is ongoing, it was thanks to the quick work of the well-trained CDEM staff within the Regional Council that Maritime New Zealand was able to hit the ground running.
New CIMS material delayed
A decision has been made to delay release of the new CIMS material until approximately June 2012. This decision was made following representation from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet who suggested that there could be significant concerns raised by both the Pike River Royal Commission and Canterbury earthquake review. It therefore raised the possibility that ODESC would ask for central government endorsement of the material to be delayed. The CIMS steering committee endorsed this approach and most stakeholders have been advised of the delay.
There will be very little change proposed to what is currently known as CIMS 2 and CIMS 4 and all training for material at this level will continue.
While this is disappointing, having so recently reached an agreement on the content of the CIMS material, allowing some additional time to accommodate these most recent events makes sense.
For more information contact Alan Walker, Chairman, CIMS Steering Committee
CDEM exercises update
Confirm your Exercise Pacific Wave participation by Tuesday 25 October 2011
PacWave’11, a Pacific-wide exercise tsunami exercise, will be conducted on Thursday 10 November 2011 with the New Zealand focus on a regional source tsunami originating in Vanuatu. While this will affect both west and east coasts of New Zealand to varying degrees, the larger impacts will be on the west coast of the country.
The New Zealand Exercise Coordinating Instruction (PDF 1MB) will be issued today to those who are subscribed to the National Warning System list to assist agencies in exercise planning.
If your agency plans to play in Exercise Pacific Wave you MUST register by Tuesday 25 October 2011.
It is important to note that agencies and CDEM GroupsMUST register to be involved in this exercise because a special national warning system broadcast group will be set up for this exercise. This will ensure we do not ‘spam’ our usual national warning system subscribers who do not wish to play. Word format participation and registration forms (Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 of the Coordinating Instruction) can be found on the Exercises for 2011-2012 page.
If you would like more information on Exercise PacWave’11 contact Jo Guard
Exercise ShakeOut 2012 – National planning begins!
The national exercise planning team will meet for the first time on 20 October 2011. If you have any ideas or questions about the exercise please direct them to your CDEM Group or partner agency representative:
National Exercise Coordinators: Jo Guard and Anita Komen (MCDEM)
CDEM Group representatives:
David Neil – Auckland Council
Paul Blewman – Hamilton City Council
Elizabeth Hughes – Tauranga-Western Bay of Plenty Combined Districts
Craig Hamilton – Wellington Region CDEM Group
Partner Agency representatives
New Zealand Police – Gerry Prins
New Zealand Fire Service – Trevor Brown
New Zealand Defence Force – Major John Harvey
Ministry of Health – Sarah Holland
Ministry of Education – Lesley Porter
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet – Pat Helm
Ministry of Social Development / National Welfare Advisory Group – Anne Stevenson
GNS Science – Michele Daly
Outcomes for the first few planning team meetings will be to set a date for the exercise and confirm the aim and objectives.
Exercise Writing and Management Course - Nominations now open!
The Exercise Writing and Management Course supports the CDEM Exercises: Director’s Guideline published in July 2009. With a busy national exercise programme over the next year we want to continue to up-skill the CDEM sector in exercise writing and management. This two-day course is being delivered in Wellington on 21 and 22 February 2012 as part of the build-up to Exercise ShakeOut (scroll down to 2012).
Each course is limited to 16 participants. We encourage a multi-agency approach to exercising and this course is open to CDEM staff and our partner agencies.
The course is very practical with lots of interaction and activity. There is no cost to attend, although participants will need to fund their own travel and accommodation.
Preference will be given to those agencies who have committed to participate in the exercise and the staff who are tasked with exercise development. Course participation will be a great opportunity to receive assistance in exercise planning and to share ideas and experiences.
Download course information and a nomination form (Doc)
Want to know more? Contact your MCDEM Regional Emergency Management Advisor or Jo Guard
CDEM Research
GeoNet news
Visit GeoNet’s news page to see a summary of last month's new sites, volcano surveillance results, earthquake summaries, data products and other news from GeoNet, New Zealand's geological hazard monitoring system.
Recent emergency management publications
The latest issues of Disaster Research are available online
Articles in issue 574 include:
Contagion: Hollywood Catches the Epidemiology Bug
Congressional Research Service Weighs in on Social Media
Watch for Falling Satellites (And Hope What Goes Up Comes Down)
Too Much, Too Soon: Warning Fatigue Lent to Joplin Tornado Death Toll
Articles in issue 575 include:
FEMA: Lots of Small Change, No Credit
9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Enters Second Round
Tsunami Approaching? Have a Ball
New FEMA publications
FEMA have released their first edition of the National Preparedness Goal, which defines the core capabilities necessary to prepare for the specific types of incidents posing the greatest risk to the security of the U.S. The goal establishes concrete, measurable, prioritised objectives to mitigate specific threats and vulnerabilities – including regional variations of risk – and emphasises actions intended to achieve an integrated, layered, accessible and all-of-Nation/whole community preparedness approach while optimising the use of available resources.
FEMA have also released their final National Disaster Recovery Framework. The Framework is a guide that enables effective recovery support to disaster-impacted States, Tribes, Territorial and local jurisdictions. It provides a flexible structure that enables disaster recovery managers to operate in a unified and collaborative manner. It also focuses on how best to restore, redevelop and revitalise the health, social, economic, natural and environmental fabric of the community and build a more resilient Nation.
Volcanic ash impacts on critical infrastructure
This article (pdf) from the Physics and Chemistry of the Earth journal presents an overview of volcanic ash impacts on the following critical infrastructure: electricity generation, transmission and distribution; water supply; waste water; telecommunications; and transportation systems.
Planning for a volcanic crisis - short course
GNS Science, University of Auckland and Massey University
Mercure Hotel, Custom St, Auckland
16–17 November 2011
Rangitoto Island Field Trip, 18 November (optional)
email for more information or download the brochure (PDF).
Interested in participating in CDEM exercise research in Wellington on 11th or 29th November?
The Joint Centre for Disaster Research is looking for people to participate in their research into decisions made during emergency management exercises. They are particularly looking for participants to complete their numbers for exercises on Friday 11 November or Tuesday 29 November in Wellington.
This research is being conducted by Dr. Emma Hudson-Doyle and colleagues Assoc. Prof. David Johnston (Massey), and Prof. Douglas Paton (University of Tasmania). Using paper based table-top exercises we will investigate how participants create situation reports and incident action plans based on a range of information injects for a volcanic eruption, tsunami, severe weather, or flooding scenario. The goal is to develop more effective science communication and we would like to enlist your help in identifying issues and developing the process.
We are looking for participants who would be involved in incident management and are familiar with writing situation reports and incident action plans. These participants may come from agencies involved in the management of hazard events, including the CDEM sector, national and local government, local and regional councils, public safety, emergency services, response agencies, and lifeline organisations.
As a thank you, participants will be given an emergency management training voucher on the exercise day. This will entitle you to one free day (of your choice) at the Emergency Management Summer Institute being run at MasseyUniversity from 12th -16th March 2012 (or, if you prefer, during the Summer Institute in 2013).
For more information, email Dr Emma E. Hudson-Doyle, or call 04-801-5799 ext 62458,