Agenda of Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 7.1

3 September 2024

TITLE:	CEG Chair Report
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 21 August 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report provides a summary of activities undertaken by or directly related to the delivery of the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group plan over the period since the last CEG meeting in August 2024.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘CEG Chair Report’ by Simon Weston, dated 14 August 2024, be received.

Background/Tuhinga

INDEX OF REPORTS

Page

1. Activations and response

2. CDEM Group

3. Far North CDEM Update

4. Kaipara CDEM Update

5. Whangārei District CDEM Update

6. Welfare Coordination Group Update

7. Northland Lifelines Group Update

8. CDEM Communications Update

9. Tsunami siren replacement Project Update

10. Tsunami inundation mapping Project Update

11. Cyclone Gabrielle recovery

12. Māori Engagement Update

13. Multi Agency Coordination Centre

14. Professional Development and Engagement

15. Natural Hazards update

1. Activations and response

Weather warning – 19 June

On 19 June, an orange weather warning was received for Northland, with an expectation of 100 – 150 mm of rain, increasing to 150 to 250 mm in localised places, particularly eastern areas and north of the Bay of Islands.

At 4:15 pm the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) held a stakeholder meeting to gauge the readiness of agencies should the weather event escalate.

At 8:00 pm an updated weather forecast from Met Service, still indicating an orange weather warning and thunderstorm watch was received. This warning indicated reduced expected rainfall amounts.

On 20 June at 8.15 am the Incident Management team (IMT) made the decision to cancel the next stakeholders meeting as the Met Service had indicated the weather had past and the warning would be lifted.

Transpower Power outage – debriefs from EOC’s and agencies.

On 20 June, at approximately 11:00 am Northland was affected by a sudden onset power outage.

By 11:15 am Northland CDEM had established contact with both Northland lines companies (Top Energy and Northpower), confirmed the reason for the outage and had determined supporting workstreams.

A 220 kV transmission tower located in a field near Glorit had fallen unexpectedly whilst maintenance work was being carried out, causing the loss of power to homes and businesses in Northland.

Northpower had 52,964 connections (residential and commercial) without power

Top Energy had 35,500 customers (residential and commercial) without power.

There were no weather watches or warnings in place and temperatures were warm, ground conditions were wet due to rain over the previous 2 days. The concurrent critical issues affecting Northland were the Mangamuka and Brynderwyn Hill closures.

Northland CDEM Group Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC)

At 12:30 pm Northland CDEM established the ECC.

At 2:00 pm a stakeholder briefing was held to understand the impact and determine what actions were being undertaken by key stakeholders.

It was established there was potential for power to remain off for several hours, possibly days. Both Top Energy and Northpower were working to restore power to Northland homes and businesses while Transpower restored as much capacity as possible through the lower capacity 110 kV.

This saw the power coming on at various times across the region, with load controlling and power conservation messaging from the power companies. Most households had their power restored within 7 hours.

Situational awareness was quickly established and Sitreps were provided to NEMA and key stakeholders. The ECC was prepared to support the lead agency, stakeholders and to support the EOC’s as required.

At 6:00 pm a second stakeholder call was held to understand impacts on Northland. Power had been restored to most areas by this time, and plans were in place to restore power to the remaining households and businesses.

The ECC was stood down at 7:00 pm with staff on standby to re-activate if required.

An ECC debrief was held 10 July. Learnings from the event include

· The team activated and quickly established an overview of the situation,

· Continue building capability of ECC staff to operate remotely, if required,

· Stakeholder relationships ensured information sharing was not hindered,

· Emergency Services need to have business continuity plans in place, and

· Requesting staff support through NRC early on in the response ensures capacity is quickly established to manage and maintain public facing communications.

Far North District Council

The Far North District Council established an Incident Management Team (IMT) by 11.30 am. An across agency / stakeholder meeting initiated by the Northland CDEM Group quickly gave a situational overview and impact to the region. A second multi-agency briefing held at 6.00 pm including representation from Transpower, Northpower and Top Energy outlined their collaborative planning to allow for an earlier restoration than anticipated. The IMT stood down at 7.00 pm as power was restored but maintained a stand-by status for the following 48 hours.

Actions taken:

• Establish Incident Management Team

• Refer to Northland Lifelines Utility Group Power Outage Plan.

• Liaise with Council Water Alliance Partner (Ventia) and request status report and impact to all councils reticulated water and sewerage plants including actions taken and any anticipated issues.

• Develop Incident Action Plans for 8-hour (and a further 24-hour period if required)

• Complete Sitrep

• Plan for full EOC setup and staffing for extended event.

Learnings:

• Light on the ground with some functional roles. IE Operations Manager, Response Manager Controllers.

• Physical presence of water alliance partner in EOC would have been an advantage

• The additional time required to assemble a team for unplanned events due to flexible working arrangements and key staff on leave.

• Lack of business continuity planning in private sector, (ie: Rest homes)

• While there was power provided by backup generator to the area designated as EOC, it was found there was no power connection to support lighting. (The IMT relocated to the council chambers which was previously used as EOC and is fully powered)

Opportunities for improvements:

• On going emphasis on in-house CDEM recruiting and training

• On going public education including business sector to improve resilience

• Physical representation in by Ventia in EOC as part of the Operations Team in future events

• Investigate ability to connect lighting for area now delegated as EOC to back up generator

Kaipara District Council

Kaipara District Council activated their EOC on Thursday afternoon 20 June 2024, providing information into the Regional Sitrep. EOC staff gained awareness on affected Council infrastructure and were prepared to support the communities as needed.

Whangarei District Council

The Whangarei District Council (WDC) activated their Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on Thursday afternoon 20 June 2024. The activation was supported with sufficient staff and resources.

Challenges included a power outage and limited generator capacity. The EOC operated fully until 7 pm on 20 June, with the Incident Management Team (IMT) managing overnight and monitoring continuing over the weekend.

Debriefing sessions identified and are addressing issues with power, logistics, and ICT, focusing on insufficient generator capacity.

Lifelines

Northland Lifelines Group (NLG) held a debrief at the meeting on 5 July.

Learnings

· Strong messaging around restoration times from Transpower

· Good communications received by NLG members from GECC

· Good communications with Fuel Companies

· Recognition of fuel priority for Emergency Services

· Hot water controls implemented from Electric power distribution companies

· Telecommunication providers willingness to source generators to keep Towers active

· Airports have generators to run Airport operations

· NLG Power outage plan – good reference document

Opportunities for improvement

· Review of Critical Infrastructure assets in Northland

· Request to Telecommunication providers to advise on cell tower restoration that wasn’t able to be achieved (all towers having generator back-up)

· Telecommunication providers advised that some cell towers only had max 2hr battery back up (remote locations)

· NLG Power Outage Plan needs updating

· Card Access to sites, that required power to activate equipment

· If telecommunication battery back ups fail (4G) then this means that Traffic Lights will fail critically and take longer to bring back online when power is restored.

2. CDEM Group

Recruitment for the vacant position of Emergency Management Specialist based in Kaitaia is underway.

Kylie Cox has moved to the Emergency Management Specialist (Kaipara) role as Laura Exton has started a 6-month period of leave without pay. James Harvey has commenced as the Recovery Support Officer.

Australia New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference

A team of 5 from the Northland CDEM team attended the Australia New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference (ANZDEMC) on the Gold Coast 22-23 July. The team also had the opportunity to visit the City of Gold Coast Disaster and Emergency Management Centre – a state-of-the-art operational emergency centre.

The 2024 conference had more than 600 in-person delegates and over 100 on-line attendees – the largest audience the conference has received to date. The two-day conference hosted a range of high calibre speakers, covering an extensive array of EM topics from empowering communities, building resilience and preparedness, through to learning from experience, inclusivity and the future challenges, opportunities and innovation.

The Northland CDEM team contributed to the conference opening, with Papanui Polamalu providing a mihi to acknowledge and pay respects to the land and the traditional families of the Yugambeh region, and their elders past, present and emerging. The team supported Papanui on stage with waiata This is the first time this acknowledgement has been done at the conference, supporting and strengthening the Aotearoa NZ commitment and enhancing the cultural aspects of the conference.

Highlights included presentations from Dr Neryl East,(Credible Leadership and communications), Dr Melanie Irons (Psychological safety), Insights from Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire (Ex Tropical Cyclone Jasper), Mona Currie (Lahaina Fire tragedy, Hawaii), and our kiwi presenters.

Networking opportunities identified a large Aotearoa NZ contingent including EM members from the Manawatu-Whanganui and AEM CDEM Groups, Selwyn District Council, Winsborough Ltd, the Kiwifruit industry, NZDF, NEMA, Red Cross and more. Two of the keynote speakers were from NZ (John Price, NEMA, and Sarah Stuart-Black, NZ Red Cross) whose presentations were well received by the audience.

Jenny Calder was a member of the conference committee and has been asked to remain on the committee for the 2025 conference. This is an opportunity to continue to grow the Aotearoa NZ input into the conference.

The learnings and connections made at the conference will be of benefit going forward as well as supporting the development of our EM staff.

Service Level Agreements and work Programmes

The CEG received and approved the 2024/25 years SLA’s and noted the Work Programmes for:

a. Welfare Coordination Group

b. Northland Lifelines Utility Group - Business Plan

c. Far North District Council Service Level Agreements

d. Kaipara District Council Service Level Agreements

e. Whangarei District Council Service Level Agreements

The following notes are for the information of the CDEM Group on work programmes and SLA’s.

Welfare Work Programme

· The Northland Welfare Coordination Group (WCG) maintains a comprehensive work programme that is updated annually.

· The programme is developed collaboratively, ensuring consultation with all Northland WCG members.

· The current programme outlines the activities and responsibilities of all group members, including the Group Welfare Manager and relevant welfare agencies responsible for sub-functions within the broader welfare services structure.

Northland Lifelines Utility Group Work Programme

· The Northland Lifelines Group develops its annual work programme collaboratively through member participation.

· During the group's most recent meeting in June, the work programme was thoroughly discussed and subsequently approved.

· The updated business plan includes a revised status list for the group's planning documents and their revision schedule.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Work Programmes

· The Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the 2024/25 year with Far North, Kaipara, and Whangarei District Councils outline their respective work programmes.

· These SLAs have been reviewed by the designated relationship managers for each council.

· As part of the annual review process, SLAs and work programmes are updated to reflect current needs.

· This year's updates incorporate findings from our recent emergency response reviews.

· Where applicable, these findings will be translated into actionable steps within the work programmes.

· The updated work programmes are in alignment with objectives, tasks, and priorities outlined in the Northland CDEM Group Plan 2021-2026.

Recovery Work Programme

· Recovery from Cyclone Gabrille in Northland has continued for the past 15 months.

· The recovery work programme for the next 12 months reflects the ongoing recovery work associated with Cyclone Gabrielle and development of rigorous recovery methodology.

3. Far North CDEM Update

A summary of work and activities undertaken by the Far North Emergency Management Specialists and Far North District Council include:

Ongoing community engagement to support and enhance marae, community resilience and reviews of community response plans. Included is supporting Northland Regional Council Rivers and Natural Hazards team with the flood affected marae project Ngāti Wai. Refer to Agenda Item: Marae Preparedness and Community Response Groups Update.

A review of the emergency plan for Ngawha Geothermal Power Station in collaboration with Fire Emergency New Zealand and Ngawha Generation Ltd.

Participation in the National Exercise Ru Whenua on 12 June. An Emergency Operations Centre was established, and key actions worked through as part of the initial actions and response to the exercise. A post exercise debrief has been carried out to consider any opportunities for improvement.

An Incident Management Team (IMT) was established to monitor the Orange Weather Warning received from the Met Service on 19 of June. Shortly after the weather warning was downgraded on 20 June, the IMT was quickly re-established in response to an unplanned power outage affecting the Transpower lines network and impacting the wider Northland area. A further debrief was undertaken for this event. Refer to Agenda Item: Transpower Power outage – debriefs from EOC’s and agencies

A readiness check and review of Emergency Operation Centre and IT equipment has been carried out.

Three StarLink Units have been provided to the Far North District Council by the Northland CDEM Group. The intended use is for deployment at the discretion of the Local Controller, for use within Emergency Operating Centres or out in communities where-ever the need is the greatest to assist with communications during an emergency event.

Other activities undertaken have been relative to the 2023-2024 Work Plan as outlined in the Far North District Council Service Level Agreement (SLA) including annual reviews and of SLAs.

4. Kaipara CDEM Update

Below is an outline of the work that has been conducted to actively build KDC’s capability and capacity to respond to an event.

Two deployable kits for KDC’s CDEM Starlink units were delivered to the Dargaville and Mangawhai EOCs in July. Training for these kits will be provided in the coming months.

A review of KDC’s Local Welfare Plan has commenced, through engagement with KDC’s two Local Welfare Managers.

KDC’s new CDEM EOC SharePoint and Teams system is currently being updated to incorporate learnings from its soft launch during the Northland Power Outage response. It should be ready for a hard launch and staff training within the coming months.

NRC have recently provided a generator to the Kaipara Service Centre in Dargaville, ensuring an alternate power source for KDC’s EOC. While NRC holds responsibility for generator maintenance and operation, select KDC staff have been trained to connect the generator to the building in case NRC staff are unavailable at the time it is required during an event.

The Dargaville Evacuation Plan, which has been developed over the past year, was presented to key stakeholders on Thursday 13 June. The plan’s purpose is to build inter-agency relationships and ensure effective collaboration during responses. The plan brings the people, and the people bring the solutions. The group will review the plan annually.

A new KDC CDEM Relationship Manager, Gillian Bruce, Manager Business Support, was inducted to Civil Defence in July. NCDEM would like to thank the previous KDC CDEM Relationship Manager, Michael Day, for his work and support over the past two years.

5. Whangārei District CDEM Update

CIMS4 and Function courses have been completed during this reporting period, with 11 more scheduled over the next 4 months. A Response Manager course is set for 1 October for current and future Response Managers, Controllers, and NCDEM staff.

A Starlink Unit has been placed at the WDC CDEM location for use by the WDC EOC in an event, either for a community, Marae or the EOC.

The WDC are developing a Procurement Policy with WDC Finance and Logistics to clarify financial requisitions during events. This policy will be integrated into WDC's financial systems (TechOne) and include a training package for the logistics team.

Enhancements to the WDC Emergency Management Kete SharePoint site are in progress. On completion, MS TEAMS will be set up as a template for future events, with organised folders, templates, and document saving ability by function roles.

Approximately 20 community engagement opportunities have been completed in the Whangarei District. Further engagement is scheduled to support on-going CDEM works and NRC projects.

6. Welfare Coordination Group Update

The next Welfare Coordination Group (WCG) meeting is scheduled for 5 September. The agenda content is to be confirmed.

Engagements
The Group Welfare Specialist has met with or attended meetings or events with the following agencies over the past three months:

· MBIE TAS

· Northable

· Red Cross

· Volunteering Northland

· Northland Lifelines

WelNAS

The WelNAS needs assessment tool has been completed. A Needs Assessors training was provided to local welfare managers and interested welfare function staff on 14 June where we showcased the new tool and gave attendees the opportunity to trial it. Next steps are the development of a training manual and a suite of videos on how to use certain parts of the system.

7. Northland Lifelines Group Update

A Northland Lifelines Group meeting was held on Friday 5 July. The group used this meeting to hold a formal debrief for members of the 20 June Northland Power Outage.

The group also adopted the 2024-25 Lifelines Group Business Plan.

Work has continued on the Updated Severe Weather Plan with the view to formally approving the plan at the meeting on 27 September.

Engagement

The Lifelines Programme Manager has attended the following meetings over the past three months:

• Auckland Lifelines Group Steering Committee

· NZTA Waka Kotahi ‘First responders brief’ meeting re opening of the Brynderwyns

• NRC Natural Hazards team regarding the proposed NRC risk portal

Work continues to strengthen and enhance relationships with all members of the group with representatives from the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector having been added to the Lifelines Group recently.

8. CDEM Communications Update

CDEM Facebook page insights, May 1, 2024 – July 1, 2024

Ÿ Page visit: 25,200

Ÿ Facebook Page followers: increased 364

Ÿ Total FB page followers as of 1 July 2024: 38,422

Our top performing post was an update post about the Transpower outage on June 20, which had reach of approximately 39,841. https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid02Dt4ifanKiyMajArvAsVJMRMWghn11fCUfU4v1sWU8N4SPotBB9QfUnHus6CyPTbHl

We also continue to see good reach and engagement on our weather-related posts, with most having reach over 35K.

Apart from weather and response related posts our next best performing posts were related to:

The Tsunami sire upgrade project with 14,136 estimated reach:

https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid02wREsLSEbZAVyrgoWktD9ctjWKZRZCaRQZ78r3Zam1dAvHsBa8F3Riojxv5sZEfnCl

An update on the Brynderwyns hills closure with 9,911 estimated reach:

https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid02is8rBFRA7gD6VP9nkfXj7TDWPaBp1ABsKMatPoLuj15RJarSBGvXx25BjgGAMHjMl

A post promoting our annual CDEM Forum with 7,861estimated reach:

https://www.facebook.com/civildefencenorthland/posts/pfbid0xWFkgbciexFArsVrDaKpWz9zbzyrafXkhFFNxG5e5gRCEkmDsuoyFyNDLewgCrecl

Overall engagement on posts remains steady and follower numbers continue to increase.

Northland CDEM Web section insights, May 1, 2024 – July 1, 2024

Ÿ Total page visits: 8,915

Ÿ Most popular pages:

1. Power outages: 2636

2. Listen to the tsunami siren sounds: 1887

3. Tsunami siren replacement project: 526

Power outage information overtook the usual number one spot of the tsunami siren sound. This can also certainly be attributed to the Transpower outage event as people searched for information on what to do in a power outage. The Tsunami siren replacement project continues to feature in our popular topics as we continue to promote this project.

Media

Following the annual CDEM Forum in May, there were a number of stories published about the event and some of the content from its presenters, including:

Empowering disabled communities: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/empowered-disabled-community-strengthens-emergency-response/JYRD6STGWJHITIUZJO3FNSL3CY/

An update on the water tank resilience project: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/free-water-tanks-build-resilience-for-remote-northland-rural-communities/NMXZ2423ZZBFDCGHLBK4ECDT7A/#google_vignette .

As well as the normal response media coverage we have, there was also an interesting piece that covered Civil Defence’s role in the Transpower outage response: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/northland-civil-defence-powers-up-in-face-of-te-tai-tokerau-electricity-failure/EOMGL3VJKZEALG6FEC3F7G7PPY/

9. Tsunami Siren project installation update

As per the attached project progress report (Attachment 1 - 2024 07 26 Northland Tsunami Siren Replacement Project Status Report – 20), progress continues with over 50% now having been constructed throughout Northland.

There are concerns around the remaining budget in particular the increase in costs since the initial project budget was allocated back in 2019. A separate paper detailing costs will be submitted to CEs for consideration.

Work now needs to begin to better establish the repairs and maintenance program, this is also included in a further attachment (Attachment 2 - Repairs and Maintenance Plan Precis - TSRP – 2024).

10. Tsunami Inundation Mapping Update

This project has largely paused due to the time requirement from the Tsunami Siren Replacement Project. The next steps are to disseminate the information out to councils, and to verify the preliminary maps drawn up by the GIS consultant. These are expected to be done by the end of this calendar year.

11. Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery

Completed the Business Continuity in Emergencies Workshops for farmers.

NINC’s economic Recovery work continues, with more than 930 businesses having participated to the end of June, and 1450 total businesses registered across the suite of economic Recovery, resilience, and business continuity initiatives.

Work on the final regional Recovery report is underway and due for printing in late August / early September. Following the style of the Regional Recovery Report and the community consultation / ‘stories of community resilience’ document, the final report will be a public document, showcasing the work not only of NCDEM, but also the Councils, iwi, government agencies, and communities.

FOSAL (Future of Severely Affected Locations): Assisted FNDC in their adoption of FOSAL; presented to NRC Council about FOSAL; continued coordinating the all-of-Councils FOSAL monthly meetings.

Confirmed an external contractor to undertake an evaluation of Northland’s Cyclone Gabrielle recovery. Interviews with stakeholders will occur in October.

Current timeframes for Cyclone Gabrielle exit/wind-down:

· Write, edit, design final report: August 2024

· Print final report: August/September 2024

· Prepare lessons identified document: September 2024

· Prepare exit strategy: September 2024

· Coordinate external evaluation: October 2024

Attended the Rū Whenua National Exercise Day 3 in Wellington, with approximately 150 participants from across CDEM, central government agencies, business and infrastructure, and community. The day was followed by a Group Recovery Managers / National Recovery Coordination Group workshop the next day, looking at national arrangements and local/central working relationships. These were two days of critical catastrophic risk planning and relationship building.

Continued to coordinate the Ngā Manga Atawhai project. As of the end of June, the project has cleared 344 trees from waterways across eight sites. The MPI fund that was a possible source of the remaining $3.5 million of funded needed has changed focus; we need to find an alternative source for $3.5 million fairly urgently.

Training: completed the Foundations in Disaster Recovery course via University of Melbourne and Lessons Management Forum (AIDR/AFAC).

Met with WDC about appointing two Local Recovery Managers and have had initial conversations with FNDC about their appointment. Training for all Local Recovery Managers this year includes the Foundations in Disaster Recovery course and attendance at the National Lifeline Utilities Forum in October.

Submitted article to the Australian Journal of Emergency Management about the connection between Northland’s community consultation for Cyclone Gabrielle, the ‘Critical infrastructure commitments’ list in the Regional Recovery Plan and presenting at last year’s National Lifeline Forum.

Continued serving on the three national Recovery programme working groups for Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning (PDRP), Recovery Toolkit, and Recovery Capabilty Development. All involve large pieces of work that will increase sectoral capability and capacity across the country and inform regional pre-disaster Recovery planning next year.

12. Māori Engagement Update

· Presentation to Morehu Marae, Pawarenga. Initial engagement hui with whānau.

· Supported Brendon Gray with Tsunami Siren Replacement Project Hui: Numerous Iwi and Hapū whānau.

· Tsunami Siren Replacement Blessings: Whakawatea for Pohe Island installation site Ngāti Kahu o Torongare. Whakawatea Takahiwai Marae – Patuharakeke.

· Supported Laura Exton and KDC engagement with Ngāti Whatua Iwi and with Te Uri o Hau in Maungaturoto,

· Supported NRC Rivers and Natural Hazards team and Damian Rio with Flood affected marae project Ngāti Wai (Otetau, Mokau, Ngaiotonga) Ngāti Whatua (Otamatea, Naumai)

· Supported Mark Trüdiger with Ngā Mana Atawhai closing and whakawatea.

· Engaged with Te Kahu o Taonui to start the process of getting a new Iwi Replacement member for CEG.

13. Multi Agency Coordination Centre

The agreements required to get the project up and running have been drafted by NRC and are with FENZ and the three councils for feedback. The expectation is that these are signed by project start date, Monday 2 September. The agreements propose a governance structure which includes a Project Advisory Group made up of key FENZ and NRC staff which will report to the CEG. Governance of the project is provided by the CDEM Group Joint Committee through the CEG. Once the agreements have been signed staff will provide a further update confirming the project start date and anticipated timelines as well as the governance structure.

14. Professional Development and Engagement

Training across the CIMS structure is ongoing with further training in the Welfare space being implemented to strengthen the welfare component of responses. A summary of training attended is shown in the table below.

*Training*	*Attendees*
*Training*	*FNDC*	*KDC*	*NRC*	*WDC*	*CDEM*	*Agency*	*Community*
CIMS4	3		1			7
EOC Function	4			12	3	5	1
Needs Assessment	1	2	2	9	5
CLC Workshop					2		8
Mental Health 101		1			1
Rū Whenua (Day 1)					10

Exercise Rū Whenua

The NEMA led, tier 4 exercise, Exercise Rū Whenua was held over three days: 12, and 26 June and 10 July.

Background

The objective of the exercise was to improve New Zealand’s ability to respond to and recover from a significant destructive event.

The scenario was based on an Alpine Fault magnitude 8 (AF8) event, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s major fault lines with the capacity to generate a severe earthquake, causing loss of life, major devastation, and disruption to the country.

Northland CDEM participated in Day One of the exercise, establishing the Group Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC).

Local Emergency Coordination Centres (EOC) were not required to be set up; however Far North District Council took the opportunity to run through an EOC set up.

Day One, 12 June

At 6.05 am Day One of the exercise commenced via a National Warning System message, received by various people, including two Northland CDEM staff. This information was shared with the CDEM team and key stakeholders.

Further information was received via the NWS, however only to one point of contact for the team.

The CDEM team assembled in the NRC building, established the ECC and commenced with a briefing of known information and determined initial actions to be undertaken.

Throughout the day a SITREP was established, deployable capability to support the exercise was being collated, an Action Plan and Communications Plan were developed, information was shared, and key stakeholders were kept updated.

As a group, the team attended both the National Controller Call and Multi Agency briefing to understand a) the information being shared, and b) as a learning opportunity.

Northland CDEM was not invited to be a part of the Day Two, and the team Recovery Specialist attended Day Three of the exercise, in Wellington.

Summary

The exercise was identified as a training opportunity by Northland CDEM so to participate, Northland CDEM developed General and Coordinating Instructions, a briefing paper and injects to support a Northland ECC response to ensure we provided support for the exercise and were able to test group KPI’s (see attached).

The need to continue exercising and developing capability was identified, as well as strengthening the team capability across all CIMS functions.

The exercise information from NEMA, both prior to and during the exercise, lacked detail, direction and urgency, and was not designed to include groups/regions that were deemed, by NEMA, to be unaffected by the earthquake event.

15. Natural Hazards Update

Risk

Northland Regional Council are undertaking several activities to understand and address the risk from natural hazards in Te Tai Tokerau. Current work includes updating and expanding our river hazard models with the Ruawai, Waima and Whangarei catchment models all near completion. The information from these models will be shared with district councils and be added to our Natural Hazards Portal for public consumption.

NRC received post-Gabrielle funding to undertake detailed modelling of the Wairoa River in particular looking to model how the different influences (tide, storm surge, and isostatic pressure) can be modelled and understood; this work is currently out for tender. Our Rivers Team received funding to work with 35 Marae across the region – this project aims to share information on flood hazards, emergency planning and some funding for building works to improve resilience at these high-risk Marae. Additional funding was also received to improve flood protections works in Kaitaia and Kawakawa. NRC also received funding to begin developing an Early Flood Warning Forecast model to better enable our hydrology team to understand potential threats and provide advice to Civil Defence.

NRC have selected Urban Intelligence to deliver their ‘Resilience Explorer’ as Te Tai Tokerau’s Risk Portal. Resilience Explorer provides a geospatial tool to build on our existing natural hazard and geospatial information to better understand the risk to our communities and infrastructure. NRC are supporting Far North District Council in using this tool to identify sites that were potentially affected by Cyclone Gabrielle to support FNDC’s FOSAL (Future of Severely Effected Land), this will also enable us to identify information that should be gathered in future storm and flood events to help our communities recover.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Attachment 1 - 2024 07 26 Northland Tsunami Siren Replacement Project Status Report – 20 ⇩

Attachment 2: Attachment 2 - Repairs and Maintenance Plan Precis - TSRP – 2024 ⇩

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 7.3

3 September 2024

TITLE:	Membership and appointments – Northland CDEM Group
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 21 August 2024

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

Whakarāpopototanga | Executive Summary

This report provides an up-to-date list of members and key appointments for the Northland CDEM Group. The CEG are seeking approval to appoint a new Local Controller for WDC and a new iwi representative on the CEGas recommended by Te Kahu o Taonui. The list of key appointments is available on the Northland CDEM Group plan webpage.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia | Recommendation(s)

1. That the report ‘Membership and appointments – Northland CDEM Group ’ by Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager and dated 14 August 2024, be received.

2. That the Northland CDEM Group appoints Shona Morgan as a Local Controller for the Whangarei District Council area.

3. That the Northland CDEM Group coopts JJ Ripikoi as an iwi representative on the CEG.

Tuhinga | Background

Membership of the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group:

Ÿ Councillor Stratford FNDC - Chair of CDEM Group

Ÿ Councillor Stolwerk NRC

Ÿ Mayor Cocurullo Mayor, WDC

Ÿ Councillor Lambeth KDC

Ÿ Wipari Henwood Commander, Fire and Emergency NZ

Ÿ Superintendent Matt Srhoj Northland Police District Commander

Ÿ Mike Gillooly NEMA (observer)

Membership of the Coordinating Executive Group:

Ÿ Jonathan Gibbard CEO, NRC

Ÿ Ruben Garcia FNDC delegated representative

Ÿ Simon Weston CEO, WDC – Chair of CEG

Ÿ Jason Marris CEO, KDC

Ÿ Wayne Ewers Inspector, NZ Police

Ÿ Graeme Quensell Assistant Area Commander, Fire and Emergency NZ

Ÿ Sarah Boniface Northland Health

Ÿ Ben Lockie St John Ambulance

Ÿ Mike Gillooly NEMA (observer)

Ÿ Liz Philips Interim MoH Representative

Ÿ Russell Watson Northland Lifelines Group

Ÿ Evania Arani Northland Welfare Coordination Group

Ÿ Hone Dalton Iwi Representative

Ÿ Snow Tane Iwi Representative

Group Controllers:

Ÿ Graeme MacDonald

Ÿ Alistair Wells

Ÿ John Burt

Ÿ Simon Weston

Ÿ Victoria Harwood

Ÿ Louisa Gritt

Ÿ Jenny Calder

Local Controllers for the Whangārei District:

Ÿ Simon Weston

Ÿ Victoria Harwood

Local Controllers for the Kaipara District:

Ÿ Alistair Dunlop

Ÿ John Burt

Ÿ Jack Rudolph

Local Controllers for the Far North District:

Ÿ Alistair Wells

Ÿ Ken Ward

Group Welfare Managers:

Ÿ Evania Arani

Ÿ Kylie Cox

Ÿ Chris McColl

Ÿ Raewyn Smythe

Local Welfare Managers for the Whangārei District:

Ÿ Paula Urlich

Ÿ Toby Hoey

Ÿ Kate Biddlecombe

Local Welfare Managers for the Kaipara District:

Ÿ Jenny Rooney

Local Welfare Managers for the Far North District:

Ÿ Kirsty Roper

Ÿ Kara-Mia Rogers

Ÿ Ange Simonsen

Group Recovery Managers:

Ÿ Graeme MacDonald

Ÿ Jenny Calder

Ÿ Mark Trudinger

Local Recovery Managers:

Ÿ TBA (WDC)

Ÿ TBA (FNDC)

Ÿ Glynis McCarthy (KDC)

Iwi representation on the Northland Coordinating Executive Group (CEG)

Following on from a recent Te Kahu o Taonui Chairs hui, JJ Ripikoi, Deputy Chairperson of Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa (Kahukuraariki Trust) has recommended that he be appointed as the Te Kahu o Taonui representative to the Coordinating Executive Group to replace Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

The CDEM Group has the authority to co-opt any person onto the Coordinating Executive Group. (CDEM Act 2002, S.20 (1)(e)).

It is recommended that the CDEM Group appoints JJ Ripikoi, Deputy Chairperson of Ngātikahu to the Northland Coordaining Executive Group.

New Appointments

The following are recommendations for new appointments to be made by the CDEM Group

Whangarei District Council – Local Controller

WDC have identified Shona Morgan to be appointed by the CDEM Group as a Local Controller for the Whangarei District Council. It is recommended that the CDEM Group appoints Shonna Morgan as a Local controller for the Whangarei District Council area. This will provide additional capacity to WDC who, following a recent resignation have only two local controllers.

Shona’s experience and skills include:

· Shona Morgan is an experienced Emergency management practitioner. Having well over a decade of emergency management experience as a specialist, a Northland CDEM Group Welfare Manager, Northland CDEM Group Controller and current member of the National Emergency Management Assistance Team (EMAT). She has deployed and supported over a dozen national and regional emergency responses.

· She undertook the national Controller training 2016 and has continued her professional development in leadership in the emergency management context, particularly through her EMAT membership. She is currently a Response Manager within the WDC Emergency Operations Centre and takes an active role within CDEM arrangements for the council.

Kaipara District Council – Local Controller

John Burt, who has been a Group and Local Controller for the Kaipara District Council for over 12 years, and recently left KDC. KDC have entered into a contract with John to provide Group and Local Controller role.

Local Recovery Manager Appointments

Whangarei District Council has made initial recommendations for two appointments to the Local Recovery Manager position. Far North District Council has identified one possible Local Recovery Manager. Interviews for these positions should occur shortly.

Lifelines Representation on CEG

Russell Watson, the current Lifelines Group representative on the CEG will be retiring early next year and it is proposed that the current Lifelines Chair, Sarah Irwin, will replace Russell Watson at the December meeting.

Russell has been an active member of the Northland Lifelines Utility Group since it was established in 2004, having been the Northpower representative and also the NLG representative on the CEG.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Meeting item: 8.1

3 September 2024

TITLE:	Marae Preparedness & Community Response Groups Update
From:	Evania Arani, Emergency Management Specialist; Damian Rio, Emergency Management Specialist; Tony Devanney, Emergency Management Specialist; Laura Exton, Emergency Management Specialist – Kaipara and Bill Hutchinson, Emergency Management Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 21 August 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report provides an overview of the work being carried out with Community Engagements, Community Response Groups and on Marae Preparedness. A spatial representation of the work can be found at the link: https://localmaps.nrc.govt.nz/localmapsviewer/?map=355ec9f65a9240e3a2b36dcfd331ef3c

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Marae Preparedness & Community Response Groups Update’ by Evania Arani, Emergency Management Specialist; Damian Rio, Emergency Management Specialist; Tony Devanney, Emergency Management Specialist; Laura Exton, Emergency Management Specialist – Kaipara and Bill Hutchinson, Emergency Management Specialist and dated 14 August 2024, be received.

Background/Tuhinga

Post Cyclone Gabrielle demands for support to Marae and Community Response Planning has increased. Emergency Management Specialists have been engaging with many new groups and facilitating the creation of new plans - both Community Response and Marae Preparedness Plans. There has been a need to be flexible and to work with and support new initiatives that community groups and Marae are requesting in regard to their preparedness planning.

Marae Preparedness

The table below shows the engagement in the past quarter for Marae Preparedness.

MARAE	COMPLETED	WORK IN PROGRESS
Far North
Motuti Marae	Plan in place
Parihaka Marae		Meeting attended Plan development underway
Te Hiku o te Ika Marae		Meeting attended Plan development underway
Potahi Marae		Plan development underway
Haiti tai Marangai Marae		Initial engagement
Roma Marae		Meeting attended Initial and ongoing engagement
Oturu Marae		Plan development underway
Ngai Tawake Marae		Meeting attended Plan development underway
Pipiwai Marae	Plan in place	Meeting attended Initial and ongoing engagement
Morehu Marae		Meeting attended Initial and ongoing engagement
Motatau		Meeting attended Initial and ongoing engagement
Mohinui Marae	Plan in place
Motukaraka (Te Roopu Whaka o Nga Tupoto Ki Motukaraka)	Plan in Place
Mangamuka Marae	Plan in Place	Meeting attended Committee have an existing plan but would be advantageous to link it to CDEM
Kaipara
Matatina and Pananawe Marae		Plan development underway
Naumai marae		Initial and ongoing engagement
Otamatea marae		Initial and ongoing engagement
Te Pounga marae		Plan development underway
Waikara marae	Plan in place
Whangarei
Mokau Marae		Meetings and planning workshop attended Further engagement scheduled
Oakura Marae		Meetings and planning workshop attended Further engagement scheduled
Otetao Reti Marae		Meetings and planning workshop attended Further engagement scheduled
Ngatiwai Marae		Meetings and planning workshop attended Further engagement scheduled
Tuparehuia Marae		Planning workshop attended Further engagement scheduled
Korokota Marae		MBIE Renewable Energy Project Further engagement scheduled
Te Aroha Marae		MBIE Renewable Energy Project Further engagement scheduled
Whangarei Terenga Paraoa Marae		MBIE Renewable Energy Project
Ngunguru Marae		Meeting attended Further engagement scheduled
Kaikou Marae		Email correspondence Further engagement scheduled
Whakapara Marae		Meeting attended Further engagement scheduled
Tau Henare Marae		Meeting attended Further engagement scheduled
Whananaki Marae		Engagement scheduled
Akerama Marae		Engagement scheduled
Maungārongo Marae		Engagement scheduled

Marae preparedness planning

We are aware that several marae preparedness plans have been developed in Northland without any engagement with Northland CDEM. A marae preparedness plan was a requirement to secure some funding after cyclone Gabrielle through a number of different funding streams. We do not have the figures of the marae that have done this.

Hapu and Iwi Māori Engagement

CDEM engagement with hapū and iwi Māori continues to grow. Hapū and iwi throughout Te Taitokerau have been working alongside CDEM groups enhancing connections and developing hapū-led initiatives. Additionally, hapū have also been pivotal in supporting the Northland Tsunami Siren Replacement Project.

Northland Flood Resilient Māori Communities and Marae Project

The Northland Regional Council (NRC) Rivers Team are currently executing this project to reduce the risk of flooding in 6 flood-affected Māori communities. CDEM is supporting this project by providing Marae Preparedness planning for the 35 identified Marae across Te Taitokerau that are currently exposed to one in 100yr flood events.

Community Response Groups

The table below provides a snapshot of the status of community response group by district.

COMMUNITY	GROUP STATUS
Far North
Te Hapua	Active and engaged
Te Kao	Active and engaged
Pukenui	Not active and not engaged
Karikari Peninsula	Active and engaged
Kaimaumau	Active and engaged
Taipa	Not active not engaged
Waipapakauri/Lake Ngatu	Not active and not engaged
Kaitaia	Active and engaged
Ahipara	Active and engaged
Hihi	Engaged
Taupo Bay	Engaged
Mahinepua/Wainui/Te Ngaere	Active and engaged
Totara North	Not active and not engaged
Kaeo	Not active and not engaged
Tapuaetahi	Active and engaged
Te Tii	Active and engaged
Rangitane / Doves Bay / Opito Bay	Active and engaged
Kerikeri / Waipapa	Engaged
Russell	Engaged
Okaihau	Active and engaged
Kawakawa	Active and engaged
Waikare / Waihaha	Active and engaged
Kohukohu	Engaged
Rawene	Active and engaged
Mitimiti	Active and engaged
Ngawha Springs	Active and engaged
Waima	Not active and not engaged
Waimamaku	Not active and not engaged
Moerewa	Active and engaged
Doubtless Bay	Engaged
Tauranga Bay	Engaged
Lake Ohia	Engaged
Kaipara
Baylys Beach	Active and engaged
Kaiwaka	Active and engaged
Mangawhai	Not active and not engaged
Matakohe	Active and engaged
Maungaturoto	Active and engaged
Oneriri / Te Pounga	Status to be confirmed
Oruawharo / Topuni	Active and engaged
Paparoa	Active and engaged
Pouto	Active and engaged
Ruawai	Active and engaged
Tangiteroria	Status to be confirmed
Tinopai	Active and engaged
Waikara	Active and engaged
Whakapirau	Active and engaged
Whangarei
Whangaruru North (Bland Bay)	Active and engaged
Whangaruru South (Oakura)	Active and engaged
Teal/Helena Bay	Active and engaged
Whananaki	Active and engaged
Ngati Hau	Not active and not engaged
Akerama	Engaged
Hikurangi	Active and engaged
Tutukaka Coast	Active and engaged
Ngati Taka me ona hapori	Active and engaged
Mangakahia Central	Not active and not engaged
Pakotai	Active and engaged
Te Wairiki Civil Defence Roopu	Active and engaged
Parua Bay	Active and engaged
Onerahi	Active and engaged
Tamaterau/Waikaraka	Active and engaged
Portland	Active and engaged
Whangarei Heads	Active and engaged
Ruakaka	Engaged
Waipu	Active and engaged

Attached to this report is a static image displaying the two sets of information as per the table above.

- Northland Community Response Groups – status indicated by symbols.

- Northland Community Response Plans – territorial local authority (TLA) shown by colour.

Summary of new and existing Community Response plans and groups

ACTIVITY	FNDC	KDC	WDC	TOTAL
Existing Community Response Groups	19	12	17	48
Existing Community Response Plans	34	15	17	66
Requests for NEW Community Response Groups	0	0	0	0
Requests for revised/updated Community Response Plans	0	0	0	0
Requests for NEW Community Response Plans	0	0	0	0

Summary of community engagements, meetings undertaken

ACTIVITY
Far North
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review - Okaihau
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review - Kawakawa
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review - Russell
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review – Rangitane
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review – Ngawha Springs
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review – Moerewa
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review - Tapuaetahi
Community Response Group Meeting / Plan review – Te Hapua
Attendance at the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Marae Resilience Meeting
Attendance at Ngā Manga Atawhai pōwhiri launch, Te Whakamaharatanga Marae Waimamaku
Attendance at Ngawha Geothermal Community Liaison Committee meeting
Presentation at the Kaitaia Business Association – Business Continuity
Attendance at the BOI Cruise Ship Logistics Meeting
Presentation to Kaitaia Age Concern
Attendance and participation at emergency planning meeting Ngawha Geothermal Power Station.
Attendance at the Rural Support Collaboration evening – Broadwood
Meeting and assisting Ngawha Business and Innovation Park with their Resilience Plan
Attendance at Emergency Service Group Meeting.
Kaipara
Meeting with potential Coordinator for Donnelly’s Crossing
Presentation to community meeting at Te Kopuru
Meeting with new Co-Coordinators for Baylys Beach
Meeting with community members in Kaihu
Presentation to Te Uri o Hau Environs Kaitiaki hui
Presentation to Naumai marae
Meeting with Naumai marae Secretary
Meeting with Otamatea marae Chair
Meeting with MSD Dargaville
Meeting with Dargaville High School
Meeting with Rodney Neighbourhood Support Coordinator
Whangārei
CD presentation delivered to Māori Woman’s Welfare League
Engagement activities conducted with Whakapara
Community Led Centre training delivered to Parua Bay, Tamaterau/Waikaraka, and Whangarei Heads CRG’s
Engagement activities conducted with Pakotai CRG
Initial engagement with Patuharakeke hapū trust
Engagement activities conducted with Maungatapere group
Engagement activities conducted with the Tutukaka Coast CRG
Engagement activities conducted with WDC coastal communities – Tsunami Siren Replacement Project
Engagement activities conducted with Whangaruru South CRG
Planning and coordination meetings conducted with Ngatiwai Trust Board
Marae Preparedness Planning workshop delivered to 5 Whangaruru Marae
Engagement activities conducted with Te Waiariki Civil Defence Roopu
Engagement activities conducted with the Pipiwai and Kaikou CRG’s
Engagement activities conducted with Ngati Taka me ona hapori CRG
Engagement activities conducted with the Tai Timu Tai Pari
Initial engagement with Whakapara Marae
EOC Familiarisation Training delivered to WDC EOC Staff
CIMS and training opportunities attended

Community Response Planning GIS Integration

Northland have an extensive network of Community Response Groups and Community Response Plans. In early 2022 the Coordinating Executive Group requested a static map displaying the spread and location of these communities to identify any gaps. As this project progressed, the Emergency Management Specialists identified an opportunity to include this information on a publicly available Map on the NRC Website. The mapping of community response groups with plans has now been completed and is live on the Northland Regional Council website: The next step is to work with our GIS team to map Marae that are engaged with Northland CDEM who have a current and up to date Marae Preparedness plan. We plan to have this work completed by the next scheduled CEG meeting.

You can view the community response group map on the following link: https://localmaps.nrc.govt.nz/localmapsviewer/?map=355ec9f65a9240e3a2b36dcfd331ef3c

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Deputy Chairperson Vincent Cocurullo	Councillor Rick Stolwerk	KDC Councillor Gordon Lambeth
NEMA Representative Mike Gillooly	NZ Police Representative Matthew Srhoj	FENZ Representative Wipari Henwood
NRC Alternate Tui Shortland	WDC Alternate Nicholas Connop	FNDC Alternate Moko Tepania
KDC Alternate Eryn Wilson-Collins

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 4 June 2024
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 15 August 2024

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet - September 2024
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 15 August 2024

TITLE:	Presentation - Security Intelligence Service
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 23 August 2024

TITLE:	National Emergency Management Agency Update
From:	Mike Gillooly, NEMA representative
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 23 August 2024

TITLE:	Government Inquiry into the North Island Severe Weather Events: Key Findings
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 21 August 2024

TITLE:	Wellington Region Emergency Management Tour
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience and Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 23 August 2024

TITLE:	Northland CDEM Group plan 2021 - 2026 report on objectives, actions and timeframe for next review.
From:	Graeme MacDonald, Emergency Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 23 August 2024