I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee will be held on:

 

Date:                      

Time:

Meeting Room:

Venue:

 

Tuesday, 25 August 2015

10.00am

Room 1, Level 26
135 Albert Street
Auckland CBD

 

Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

 

OPEN AGENDA

 

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

Chairperson

Sharon Stewart, QSM

 

Deputy Chairperson

Bill Cashmore

 

Members

Cr Alf Filipaina

 

 

Cr Denise Krum

 

 

Cr Calum Penrose

 

 

Member David Taipari

 

 

Cr Sir John Walker, KNZM, CBE

 

 

Member Karen Wilson

 

 

Cr George Wood, CNZM

 

 

 

 

Ex-officio

Mayor Len Brown, JP

 

 

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse

 

 

(Quorum 3 members)

 

 

 

Louis Dalzell

Democracy Advisor

 

19 August 2015

 

Contact Telephone: (09) 890 8135

Email: elaine.stephenson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

 

 



TERMS OF REFERENCE

 

 

The Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Committee will be responsible for:

 

·         Being Auckland’s strategic forum for civil defence and emergency management planning and policy;

·         Establishing an emergency management structure for the Auckland region;

·         Develop, approve, implement and monitor the Auckland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Plan;

·         Performing the statutory functions of a civil defence emergency management group;

·         Representing Auckland in the development of national emergency management policy;

·         Developing policy for, and monitoring, the Auckland Council’s civil defence, emergency management and natural hazards functions; and

·         Engaging with Local Boards on civil defence and emergency management issues.

 

The Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Committee will exercise the statutory powers outlined in the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 and the Auckland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Plan.

 

The Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Committee is authorised to approve use of the established emergency funding facility provided for emergency management.

 

Relevant legislation includes but is not limited to:

 

Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002; and
Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.

 


Exclusion of the public – who needs to leave the meeting

 

Members of the public

 

All members of the public must leave the meeting when the public are excluded unless a resolution is passed permitting a person to remain because their knowledge will assist the meeting.

 

Those who are not members of the public

 

General principles

 

·         Access to confidential information is managed on a “need to know” basis where access to the information is required in order for a person to perform their role.

·         Those who are not members of the meeting (see list below) must leave unless it is necessary for them to remain and hear the debate in order to perform their role.

·         Those who need to be present for one confidential item can remain only for that item and must leave the room for any other confidential items.

·         In any case of doubt, the ruling of the chairperson is final.

 

Members of the meeting

 

·         The members of the meeting remain (all Governing Body members if the meeting is a Governing Body meeting; all members of the committee if the meeting is a committee meeting).

·         However, standing orders require that a councillor who has a pecuniary conflict of interest leave the room.

·         All councillors have the right to attend any meeting of a committee and councillors who are not members of a committee may remain, subject to any limitations in standing orders.

 

Independent Māori Statutory Board

 

·         Members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board who are appointed members of the committee remain.

·         Independent Māori Statutory Board members and staff remain if this is necessary in order for them to perform their role.

 

Staff

 

·         All staff supporting the meeting (administrative, senior management) remain.

·         Other staff who need to because of their role may remain.

 

Local Board members

 

·         Local Board members who need to hear the matter being discussed in order to perform their role may remain.  This will usually be if the matter affects, or is relevant to, a particular Local Board area.

 

Council Controlled Organisations

 

·         Representatives of a Council Controlled Organisation can remain only if required to for discussion of a matter relevant to the Council Controlled Organisation.

 

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

ITEM   TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                        PAGE

1          Apologies                                                                                                                        7

2          Declaration of Interest                                                                                                   7

3          Confirmation of Minutes                                                                                               7

4          Petitions                                                                                                                          7  

5          Public Input                                                                                                                    7

6          Local Board Input                                                                                                          7

7          Extraordinary Business                                                                                                7

8          Notices of Motion                                                                                                          8

9          Orewa Rotary Open Awareness Day & Survey                                                         9

10        Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management National Strategy          11

11        Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Plan Review Update    13

12        Localised Storm Event 15 July 2015 - Corrective Actions                                      23

13        Auckland Council Civil Defence and Emergency Management Department Work Programme Update                                                                                                     27

14        Rural Fire Update                                                                                                         33

15        Community Driven Initiative: Connect Four                                                             43

16        Public Alerting Systems Update                                                                                47

17        Amendments to the National Civil Defence and Emergency Management Plan Order 2015                                                                                                                                       51  

18        Consideration of Extraordinary Items 

 

 


1          Apologies

 

Apologies from Cr DA Krum and Deputy Mayor PA Hulse have been received.

 

 

2          Declaration of Interest

 

Members are reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other external interest they might have.

 

 

3          Confirmation of Minutes

 

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)         confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Tuesday, 16 June 2015, including the confidential section, as a true and correct record.

 

 

4          Petitions

 

At the close of the agenda no requests to present petitions had been received.

 

 

5          Public Input

 

Standing Order 7.7 provides for Public Input.  Applications to speak must be made to the Democracy Advisor, in writing, no later than one (1) clear working day prior to the meeting and must include the subject matter.  The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.  A maximum of thirty (30) minutes is allocated to the period for public input with five (5) minutes speaking time for each speaker.

 

At the close of the agenda no requests for public input had been received.

 

 

6          Local Board Input

 

Standing Order 6.2 provides for Local Board Input.  The Chairperson (or nominee of that Chairperson) is entitled to speak for up to five (5) minutes during this time.  The Chairperson of the Local Board (or nominee of that Chairperson) shall wherever practical, give one (1) day’s notice of their wish to speak.  The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.

 

This right is in addition to the right under Standing Order 6.1 to speak to matters on the agenda.

 

At the close of the agenda no requests for local board input had been received.

 

 


 

7          Extraordinary Business

 

Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

 

“An item that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-

 

(a)        The local  authority by resolution so decides; and

 

(b)        The presiding member explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-

 

(i)         The reason why the item is not on the agenda; and

 

(ii)        The reason why the discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”

 

Section 46A(7A) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

 

“Where an item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-

 

(a)        That item may be discussed at that meeting if-

 

(i)         That item is a minor matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and

 

(ii)        the presiding member explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but

 

(b)        no resolution, decision or recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”

 

 

8          Notices of Motion

 

At the close of the agenda no requests for notices of motion had been received.

 

 

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Orewa Rotary Open Awareness Day & Survey

 

File No.: CP2015/17255

 

  

Purpose

1.       The purpose of this report is to update the committee on the Civil Defence Emergency Management Rotary partnership and specifically describes an upcoming survey that Rotary will run in the Orewa area to measure the preparedness of that community in regards tsunami hazards.

Executive Summary

2.       Auckland Council Civil Defence and the Auckland Rotary Club entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2013 known as RAD “Rotary adding Depth.”

3.       On Saturday 22 August 2015 Rotary are going to run an open awareness day on tsunami risk and preparedness in Orewa with a pop-up information centre. There will be maps and reports on the tsunami risk for Orewa and assistance on how to plan evacuation for residents, neighbourhoods, schools and businesses. The volunteers are also going to run a survey of residence in the Orewa area to gauge how prepared they are should a tsunami hit the shores of Orewa.

4.       CDEM Staff will accompany Rotary so that awareness information can be provided to respondents after the surveys are completed. The questions contained in the survey have been formalised by Massey University and will provide valuable information as to risk awareness, readiness and possible areas to improve on.

5.       This initiative is a good example of community partnership and engagement that will contribute to the readiness of the Orewa community. This model could be employed in other areas to ensure ready and resilient communities.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      endorse the Rotary open awareness day and survey in Orewa on 22 August 2015

b)      attend the open awareness day if possible.

 

 

Comments

6.       In 2013 a Memorandum of Understanding was established between Civil Defence and the Auckland Rotary Club known as RAD “Rotary adding Depth.”

7.       The initial focus was to set up a database which contained all the expertise that could be available in the time of a disaster and was called CHIP-IN “Can help If Possible – If needed”.

8.       On Saturday 22 August 2015 Rotary are going to run an open awareness day on tsunami risk and preparedness in Orewa with a pop-up information centre. There will be maps and reports on the tsunami risk for Orewa and assistance on how to plan evacuation for residents, neighbourhoods, schools and businesses. The volunteers are also going to run a survey of residence in the Orewa area to gauge how prepared they are should a tsunami hit the shores of Orewa.

9.       CDEM Staff will accompany Rotary so that awareness information can be provided to respondents after the surveys are completed. The questions contained in the survey have been formalised by Massey University and will provide valuable information as to risk awareness, readiness and possible areas to improve on.

10.     Tom Morton, Executive Director of the CHIP-In Foundation will be attending the committee meeting to give the committee a brief update on the event. A report back on the survey findings will be provided to the committee in due course.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

11.     For the purposes of preparing this report no local board views or implications were sought. This event will be forward to the Hibiscus and Bays local board so they may attend.

12.     The results of this Rotary Survey will be of significance to the local board and the results will be communicated to the local board verbally and in writing.

Māori impact statement

13.     The views of Māori were not considered by Rotary nor are impacts on Māori covered in this report.  The Rotary survey makes no distinction between Māori and non- Māori  but, rather, seeks to gain data on the age demographic on the respondents of this survey.

Implementation

14.     There are no additional resourcing issues arising from this activity. Civil defence staff time is resourced as part of our community preparedness work programme.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.     

Signatories

Authors

Craig Bosson, Senior Emergency Management Advisor, Civil Defence & Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management National Strategy

 

File No.: CP2015/16560

 

  

 

 

Purpose

1.       The purpose of this report is to update the committee on the planned review of the National CDEM Strategy by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management and to detail Auckland Council’s proposed involvement in this review.

Executive Summary

2.       The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management are beginning a review of the National CDEM Strategy as mandated by the Civil Defence and Emergency Act 2002. 

3.       The strategy document developed through this review will shape how New Zealand’s CDEM functions will be delivered into the future.  The National Director CDEM has requested Auckland CDEM’s involvement in the development of the strategy and this report updates the committee on this planned review and the proposed Auckland Council involvement in this process.

 

Recommendation/s

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)   note the planned review of the National CDEM Strategy by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management

b)   support the involvement of the CDEM Director and appropriate CDEM staff in this review

 

 

Comments

4.       Under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, the Minister of Civil Defence must complete a National CDEM Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy sits within New Zealand’s wider emergency management framework, which includes the National CDEM Plan and Guide, and supporting guidelines issued by the national Director CDEM.

5.       The Strategy sets out the overall direction for CDEM in New Zealand.  It has a vision of a ‘resilient New Zealand: communities understanding and managing their hazards.’ It also sets out principles and national level goals and objectives. Collectively, these define what New Zealanders want to achieve through our CDEM arrangements.

6.       Achievement of the vision defined in the Strategy requires the participation and commitment of the whole community including central government, local authorities, individual departments, businesses, volunteer organizations, and individual families.

7.       The Strategy was first developed following introduction of the CDEM Act in 2002 and was revised in 2008. It is a statutory requirement that it is to be revised and re-issued again before the end of 2018.  This revision will incorporate the lessons from the Christchurch earthquakes and subsequent amendments to the National CDEM Plan.

8.       The review of the Strategy is in its early stages with terms of reference currently being developed for the project. However, Sarah Stuart-Black, National Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, has requested Auckland CDEM’s involvement in this review.

9.       CDEM Director, John Dragicevich, has kindly accepted the National Director’s offer of participation to help shape the future of New Zealand CDEM through the development of the strategy and this report seeks committee endorsement for ongoing Auckland Council involvement in this review.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

10.     For the purposes of preparing this report no local board views or implications were sought. Local board views are regularly sought in regards the functions of CDEM including local hazard planning, community response planning and community engagement in civil defence readiness. 

11.     Local Board views will be sought through the Auckland CDEM Group Plan review process and will inform Auckland Council’s involvement and input to this Strategy review, as and when appropriate.

Māori impact statement

12.     This report seeks committee approval to commit to input to a national level review the implications for Māori of this commitment are not yet known. Future discussions on the review of this Strategy that may have implications for Maori, and the Auckland Plan identified Maori outcomes, will be considered as the Strategy review is developed.

13.     Māori implications and views that will be sought through the Auckland CDEM Group Plan review process will inform Auckland Council’s involvement and input into this Strategy review.

Implementation

14.     Auckland Council’s involvement in this Strategy review will be met from within existing staff resources and available budget.

15.     Auckland Council’s involvement in this review will be regularly reported to this committee as it develops.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.    

Signatories

Authors

Richard Woods - Head of Emergency Management Planning

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Plan Review Update

 

File No.: CP2015/17145

 

  

 

Purpose

ü Reduction

ü Readiness

ü Response

ü Recovery

 

1.       To provide the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee (committee) with an update on the development of the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group (CDEM) Plan (Group Plan) review and to seek committee endorsement for a revision of the original proposed timeframes for endorsement.

2.       In addition this report provides an opportunity to update the committee on the upcoming Shaping a Resilient Auckland symposium scheduled for Thursday 3 September 2015.

Executive Summary

3.       Since the last Group Plan update to the committee, support has been given by Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) to extend the approval date of the new Auckland CDEM Group Plan (Group Plan) from 1 July 2016, to 31 August 2016.

4.       The purpose of this report is to update the committee on the revision of the original proposed timeframes for endorsement.

5.       In addition,  the Auckland CDEM Group are hosting a Shaping a Resilient Auckland symposium on Thursday 3 September 2015 to understand how we can practically build resilience and reduce risk from potential shocks and stresses in Auckland over the next 5 years (life of the Group Plan) and beyond.  This symposium will inform the development of the new Group Plan by applying the Sendai Disaster Risk Reduction framework to generate high-level objectives for plan.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      endorse the extension of the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Plan timeline, as supported by MCDEM ,from 1 July 2016 to 31 August 2016.

 

 

Comments

Extension of the Group Plan timeline

 

6.       At the June 2015 CDEM Group committee meeting members approved the adjusted Group Plan and refreshed timelines meaning the statutory consultation process will not begin until 19 January 2016, and will continue until 19 April 2016, the full three months.  This has meant that activities following the statutory consultation process; formal hearings, development of final Group Plan, delivery to the Minister for comment (allow twenty working days), and approval by CDEM Group, must take place over two months in mid-2016.

 

 

7.       Following the June CDEM Group committee, Stephen Town, Coordinating Executive Group Chair, wrote to the Director of MCDEM to clarify the intent to extend the date for approval of the new Group Plan from 1 July 2016 to 31 August 2016.  While a target of 1 July 2016 is feasible, the Auckland CDEM Group is committed to ensuring a more thorough approach to community engagement is achieved and have sought a small extension to the timeframes to allow for this to occur.  This means that the existing Group Plan remains in place until that date (CDEM Act 2002, section 55 (b)).

8.       The draft Group Plan will be socialised and endorsed by committee members through two additional appointments prior to the end on 2015:

 

·    NEW Monday 16 November (1:30pm – 3:30pm) workshop to discuss and agree draft Group Plan.  It is proposed all members receive the draft plan one week prior to the workshop.

 

·    Tuesday 17 November (10am – 12pm) committee meeting.  This meeting is a set calendar meeting. 

 

·    NEW Wednesday 16 December (12:30pm – 1pm) committee meeting to endorse draft Group Plan for statutory consultation release. 

 

9.       This report seeks committee endorsement for the extension of the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Plan timeline, as supported by MCDEM, from 1 July 2016 to 31 August 2016.

 

Shaping a Resilient Auckland symposium

 

10.     The Auckland CDEM Group are hosting a ‘Shaping a Resilient Auckland’ symposium on Thursday 3 September 2015 to understand how we can practically build resilience and reduce risk from potential shocks and stresses in Auckland over the next 5 years (life of the Group Plan) and beyond.  The agenda and key details for this symposium are appended as attachment A to this report.

11.     Under the Sendai Disaster Risk Reduction framework the purpose of the symposium is to develop and agree high-level objectives for the new Group Plan using the four Sendai framework priorities:

 

·    Priority 1: Understanding disaster risk.

 

·    Priority 2: Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk.

 

·    Priority 3: Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience

 

·    Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to ‘build back better’ in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction

 

12.     Representatives from across the sector have been placed into one of the priorities above and will participate in two sessions.  The first session is a quick fire round where participants will have an opportunity to explain their agencies role, responsibility and future activities against that priority. 

13.     The following session will be a group workshop where CDEM themes will be discussed and prioritised for Group Plan objective development. 

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

14.     For the purposes of preparing this report, no local board views or implications were sought.  Local board views are regularly sought across functions of CDEM such as, local hazard and risk communication, community response planning and community engagement in CDEM readiness. 

15.     Local Board views will be sought through the Group Plan review process. 

Māori impact statement

16.     This report seeks committee approval to commit to an extension of the timeframes for the Group Plan.  The implications for Māori of this commitment are not yet known.  Future discussions on the review of this Group Plan may have implications for Maori.  The Auckland Plan identified Māori outcomes will be considered as the Group Plan review is developed.  Māori views will be sought through the Communications and Engagement component of the Group Plan project. 

Implementation

17.     No specific additional implementation issues have been identified.

 

Attachments

No.

Title

Page

aView

Shaping a Resilient Auckland - invitation and agenda - 3 Sep 2015

17

     

Signatories

Authors

Kiri Maxwell, Senior Advisor Readiness, Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Richard Woods, Head of Emergency Management Planning, Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 






Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Localised Storm Event 15 July 2015 - Corrective Actions

 

File No.: CP2015/17194

 

  

 

Purpose

1.       To outline the key findings from a review of council and emergency agencies’ response to a recent localised rainfall event 15 July 2015 and to update the committee on planned corrective actions.

Executive Summary

2.       On the evening of 15 July 2015, a rainfall event affected localised areas of Auckland.  The highest rainfall intensities occurred in the west and south of the region, namely Henderson Valley, Waitākere, Papatoetoe, Papakura and at Auckland Airport.  In total 117 requests for service were received and responded to by emergency services, Auckland Council staff and contractors.

3.       Keeping our communities safe from natural hazards such as flooding is paramount to our service delivery and response in these events.  This incident and our response have been reviewed as a matter of priority and key findings have been identified, including:

§  A need for removal of knowledge transfer barriers within all emergency agencies

§  Auckland Transport Operational Centre (ATOC) to lower their threshold in regards to emergency alerts to include flooding of main arterial roads

§  Need to improve transfer of information between ATOC, all emergency services and Auckland Council in emergencies

§  Need to improve our systems for monitoring media and social media channels so that we can capture live flooding data via public sources.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      receive the preliminary report detailing the 15 July 2015 storm event and endorse the identified corrective actions

b)      support the independent review of the incident and note that it will be reported back to the committee in November 2015.

 

 

Comments

4.       On the evening of 15 July 2015, a rainfall event affected localised areas of Auckland.  The highest rainfall intensities occurred in the west and south of the region, namely Henderson Valley, Waitakere, Papatoetoe, Papakura and at Auckland Airport. The event only affected parts of urban Auckland due to the localised nature of the rainfall.

5.       117 emergency requests for service including 17 habitable flooding incidents were reported, two by Auckland Council and 15 by the New Zealand Fire Service.  Post-event verification concluded that of the 17 reported habitable instances reported only 8 qualified as true habitable floor incidents.  The Auckland Council stormwater network responded as expected.

6.       All flooding issues responded to by emergency services were logged and followed up by council’s stormwater unit including emergency investigations for damaged or blocked drains and culvert pipe blockages.

7.       CDEM staff received MetService forecasts and these were analysed to identify any potential hazards and need for public alerting. Forecasts for the evening of Wednesday 15 July 2015 did not reach the warning criteria (more than 25mm per hour) with estimates of between only 10-15mm/hr. The actual event reached greater than 30mm per hour rainfall in some localised areas. MetService have advised that an investigation into the forecasting for this event is underway.

8.       Key findings from council’s review include a number of corrective actions, these include:

§  The threshold of public alerting has been confirmed. Where corrective action needs to be applied is that there were knowledge transfer barriers within all emergency agencies. This is being addressed as a matter of urgency.

§  Auckland Transport Operations Centre (ATOC) only sends alerts when a main arterial road is closed.  Any other reporting is out-of-scope. ATOC reported the following day to CDEM that on this occasion they received four specific flooding calls, two calls from police and one from Auckland Airport relating to road flooding.  Three incident notification texts were sent out by ATOC advising management and or stakeholders of the issues. It is recommended that ATOC lower their threshold in regards to emergency alerts to include main arterial roads.

§  Auckland Airport experienced significant rainfall and localised flooding and have advised that the ‘flooding occurred due to both the network maintenance issues and the volume of water inletting.

§  The transfer of information between the Auckland Transport Operational Centre, all emergency services and Auckland Council needs to improve and this will be part of a corrective action plan to be developed in response to this event. All services are supportive of this action plan.

§  In some instances the media were ahead of our understanding of the situation due to the social media providing media with access to real time information. It is recommended that council reviews and enhances how we monitor and review media and social media channels including how we can capture live flooding data via public sources

9.       An independent review of this storm event has been commissioned to further capture the learnings and to identify any additional corrective actions for consideration. This review will be reported to the committee at its November 2015 meeting.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

10.     The position adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for specific local boards.

Māori impact statement

11.     The position adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for Māori.

Implementation

12.     There are no specific implementation issues arising from this report.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.     

Signatories

Authors

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Auckland Council Civil Defence and Emergency Management Department Work Programme Update

 

File No.: CP2015/17211

 

  

 

 

Purpose

1.       The purpose of this report is to update members of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group (CDEMG) Committee (CDEMG committee) on the progress of the Auckland CDEM team’s work programme.

Executive Summary

2.       This is a regular report to keep the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee up to date on the CDEM department’s work programme.

3.          At the time of writing this report, the CDEM 2015/16 business plan and associated work programme are near completion.  All service delivery measures are achieving key performance indicators with key highlights for this quarter detailed below.

4.       This report introduces and recommends that the committee support a review of the community response plans as detailed in the comments section of this report.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      receive the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Department work programme update report

b)      support the review of the community response plan methodology to ensure it is both fit for purpose and reflects current best practice, particularly in the area of community engagement. 

 

Comments

Queensland Fruit Fly

5.       The Auckland Council response to the Queensland Fruit Fly incident in Grey Lynn and surrounding areas has been scaled back. We are currently providing a staff member for one day a week to act as the Welfare Manager for the Ministry for Primary Industries. This role is providing a single point of contact for affected residents and businesses and is looking at compensation and relationship management with the local community.

6.       This role will continue through to late November, allowing MPI to confirm the outbreak has been eradicated as the warmer weather returns.

 

Auckland Council CDEM Top Service Delivery Objectives

Understand and communicate, and where practical reduce the risks of hazards to Auckland

7.       A number of local board hazard reports were completed in the 2014/15 financial year and are now available on Council’s website.  Limited hard copies are being printed and distributed to schools, libraries and local board offices.  The following schedule in Table One indicates the reports to be completed in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 years.

  

Table One: Local board hazard reports to be completed in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017

2015/2016

2016/2017

Upper Harbour

Maungakiekie – Tāmaki

Kaipātiki

Māngere-Ōtāhuhu

Whau

Ōtara-Papatoetoe

Waitākere Ranges

Manurewa

Waitematā

Papakura

Albert-Eden

Henderson-Massey

Howick

Puketāpapa

                                                                                                                

8.       Two reports detailing New Zealand’s tsunami risk are expected to be released by the Earthquake Commission in coming weeks.  The reports build on the National Tsunami Hazard Review undertaken by GNS Science in 2013. 

9.       A draft Operational Evacuation Plan has been prepared by NZ Police and was considered at a workshop with the Auckland Transport Response Group held on 12 May 2015.  Members of this group are considering the draft plan and will scenario test in August 2015.

10.     In June 2015 staff attended a national symposium on how the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, signed in March, will be implemented in New Zealand. Staff are working closely with MCDEM to understand how the framework can be operationalised in Auckland through the Group Plan Review.

11.     GeoNet has launched a beta version of a new product called ShakeMap.  Rather than interpreting the size of earthquakes by magnitude and depth, this product provides a map showing the expected intensity of shaking at any location. The beta version of the product can be viewed here: http://shakemap.geonet.org.nz/

 

Build individual, community and business resilience against the disruption caused by the impact of a hazard.

12.     Work has continued on producing new Community Response Plans and reviewing older plans. Otara has been completed and Kawau Island and Whangaparaoa reviewed.

13.     The Central Business District Response Plan has been signed off by the Central Emergency Management Committee, who will own the plan. This will be the template for other urban areas where traditional community engagement has proved difficult to achieve.

14.     Liaison with the local boards continues and the production of local board hazard guides is generating active discussion.

15.     As community plans are being created or reviewed we are looking at tsunami road signage, blue lines and information boards. Kawau Island have requested seven information boards, Whangaparaoa are enthusiastic about having blue lines and Auckland Regional Parks are eager to implement these measures across the region and has put in place a project team to support this piece of work.

16.     The Director of Auckland CDEM has requested that an urgent review be carried out on the development of community response plans going forward. The review is to significantly enhance the community engagement component of the community response plan content. The review is also to recognize that “community” has many contexts in the Auckland regional environment and there needs to be enough flexibility in the template to reflect the diversity of Auckland.    

17.     The regional coordinator MCDEM has confirmed that although many of the objectives of the current community response plans are sound, he has identified that the community engagement component needs to be strengthened, and that the CRPs must be fit for purpose in the context of the community they serve and reviewed at each refresh to enhance the current state

18.     This review will be regularly reported to this committee as it is progressed.

Public Education

19.     A trial community ambassador programme has been initiated. This initiative ‘piggy-backs’ on the established NZ Police ambassador programme. Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust is our partner in the delivery of this.

20.     The University of Auckland survey of inner-city apartment buildings has commenced and is ongoing. Two apartment buildings have been surveyed with good results. Surveys of other buildings are expected to commence shortly.

Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC)

ECC Review

21.     The information received and monitored within the ECC is under review. Options are being assessed to utilise duty officer staff to build relationships and develop processes with key partner agencies. There is an opportunity to better utilise and access Auckland Council resources through CDEM relationships and enhance response capability.

22.     Work is continuing on retro fitting some of the new technology into Bledisloe. There are real advantages in running on a council system with the necessary back-up systems in place rather than a stand-alone system.

Public Alerting Review

23.     A report was approved at Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee 16 June 2015 to decommission two legacy CDEM public alerting options, OPTN text alerting system and North Shore fixed telephone warning systems. It was also approved to investigate decommissioning the fixed tsunami sirens in Waitakere and Rodney.

24.     A decommission message was sent to members of the public registered on the North Shore fixed telephone system 21 June 2015.  Messages were sent to OPTN recipients on the 22 July 2015 to advise that the system was being decommissioned from 7 August 2015. People have been encouraged to sign up to other available public alerting options including SMS alerts, applications for Iphone or android phones and email notification.

Exercise Mayday

25.     Exercise Mayday was held on 27 May 2015 in the Bledisloe Emergency Coordination Centre in partnership with the Auckland Lifelines Group members.  The exercise allowed members of the group to practise their business continuity plans and procedures within a CDEM response framework.  Debriefs have been held and information collated into a corrective action plan which is under review by the CDEM leadership team.  Corrective actions will be circulated and implemented once the review is complete.

Logistics

26.     The installation of a water tank for Motairehe Marae on Great Barrier Island has been completed. This was an outcome of the June storms last year and was funded by a contribution by Te Puni Kokiri to the Mayoral Response fund.

27.     A new catalogue of CDEM suppliers has gone live in SAP for use in emergencies. This will allow us to easily create purchase orders and also map suppliers onto GIS.

28.     A member of the working group is developing advanced logistics training for the National Integrated Training Framework. Logistics is the first in the advanced course and will provide the footprint for the other disciplines.

Training and Development

29.     The Integrated Training Framework intermediate course is in its final stage of development, with a pilot course held in Taranaki during May 2015.  Auckland CDEM have provided technical expertise and sit on the steering committee.

30.     A two day induction led by MCDEM and Auckland CDEM staff has been held for newly appointed alternate controllers. Another two day induction is scheduled for September 2015.

Welfare

31.     A welfare practical skills course for staff working in Civil Defence Centres has been developed and delivered in training. This will continue to include all our volunteers.

32.     Feedback continues to be given to MCDEM around the new Director’s Guidelines and changes to the National Welfare Plan.

33.     Current Recovery portfolio update includes establishing chairs for the Built Environment Taskgroup, confirmed Don Lyons, Managing Director Beca; Economic Environment, confirmed, Kim Campbell, Chief Executive, Employers Manufacturers Association. Currently in discussions to confirm chair for the Social Environment. 

Recovery

34.     Members of the Built Environment and Economic Environment Taskgroups are being finalised after which the respective Taskgroups will meet. At this meeting they will be presented with the Terms of Reference and the expectations of their roles in the event of a civil defence event. 

35.     Work continues to understand how this area will work with the new Director’s Guidelines when they are produced.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

36.     Local Boards continue to be consulted in the community planning programme and with the provision of local board hazard guides which are being delivered.  CDEM staff attend local board meetings and workshops where staff have presented on this work programme.

Māori impact statement

37.     The position adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for Maori.

38.     This is a report for information and  the implications for Māori of the activities described in this report are not known. Future discussions on these activities that may have implications for Maori, and the Auckland Plan identified Maori outcomes, will be considered as the work programme progresses.

Implementation

39.     There are no specific implementation issues arising from this report.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.    

Signatories

Authors

Richard Woods, Head of Emergency Management Planning, Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Rural Fire Update

 

File No.: CP2015/17222

 

  

Purpose

ü Reduction

ü Readiness

ü Response

ü Recovery

 

1.       The purpose of this report is to update all members of the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group Committee (committee) on current Rural Fire activities.

Executive Summary

2.       This is a brief report for information on current rural fire activities, which may be of interest to the committee and covers such areas as:

·        an update on the legislative review of Fire Service and Auckland Council’s submission

·        Auckland Rural Fire support for the Canadian fire-fighting efforts.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      receive  the rural fire update report.

 

Comments

Review of Fire Services update

 

3.       At the previous meeting of this committee the Principal Rural Fire Officer provided a report on the Review of Fire Services along with the proposed consultation timelines. The Minister released the Review of Fire Services Discussion Document on 28 May with a consultation period closing date for submissions being 10 July 2015.

4.       Some 234 submissions were received on the review, there was a clear desire for change identified in the submissions while the Discussion Document sought feedback on the three models identified in the document many submitters identified a range of themes that were important to be considered in any final model. 

5.       The Auckland Council as the local fire authority supported Option 3 the “One National Fire Service” with a community engagement model being established at a regional level, the authority also identified a number of themes.

6.       Currently the Department of Internal Affairs is analyzing the submissions with an intention to present these to the Sector Working group to determine the ongoing development of the appropriate Fire Services model moving forward.

7.       The Council’s Submission is attached as attachment A to this report.

Auckland Rural Fire supports Canadian fire-fighting efforts.

 

8.       A 16 person vegetation fire incident management team including Brandon Guttery from Auckland Rural Fire has been deployed to assist in the containment of out of control forest wildfires in Alberta Canada where 487,000 hectares have burnt to date this year.

9.       The team was able to quickly integrate with resources from Australia, USA, Mexico and Canada as these countries all use the very similar incident management structures and processes. The creditability of NZ Rural fire fighters obtained from previous deployments is such that the current team has been given responsibility for management of Type 1 incidents which is the highest classification level based on size and complexity.

10.     Their first assignment was managing a complex of 5 fires and over 60 000 hectares threatening remote communities in Northern Alberta.  The deployment is for a duration of approximately five weeks of which there will be two fourteen day shifts with two days recovery between.

11.     Providing much needed support to Canada is not only good for international relations, but it is an excellent opportunity to gain experience and share skills with experts from around the world. A summary of the learnings from this deployment will advance Auckland Rural Fire and the wider NZ fire sector.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

12.     Local Board views, have not been sought.

Māori impact statement

13.     The positions adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for Māori.

Implementation

14.     There are no implementation issues at this stage.

 

Attachments

No.

Title

Page

aView

Submission to Fire Services Review - 9 July 2015

35

     

Signatories

Authors

Thomas Harre, Principal Rural Fire Officer (Acting), Principal Rural Fire Officer, Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 








Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Community Driven Initiative: Connect Four

 

File No.: CP2015/17248

 

  

Purpose

1.       To introduce the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Group Committee (committee) to a community driven initiative, Connect Four, which aims to better connect neighbours and increase community readiness and resilience. 

Executive Summary

2.       Connect Four is a community driven concept that aims to better connect neighbours and increase community readiness and resilience.

3.       This purpose of this report is to seek endorsement from the committee to adopt the Connect Four concept for future development and use in alignment with council’s CDEM readiness responsibilities.

 

Recommendations

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      support the adoption of the Connect Four concept into the suite of readiness tools provided by Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

 

Comments

4.       Connect Four is a concept produced by Torbay resident Carole McMinn. The objective of this concept is to promote readiness and connection between neighbours. The concept provides a platform for readiness conversations between neighbours and provides a mechanism for recording names and contact details for neighbours on a Connect Four card. This tool can then be used by residents to check on their neighbours during or after emergency events. 

5.       The Auckland CDEM Director supports the adoption of this simple concept and believes it can become a valuable tool to increase readiness and resilience in communities across the Auckland region. This concept could also be employed in other areas to ensure ready and resilient communities.

6.       Auckland CDEM intends to work in partnership with Mrs McMinn to further develop and rebrand the tool for use in communities across Auckland.

7.       On Wednesday 19 August 2015, Auckland CDEM Director visited Mrs McMinn to present a gift and letter of thanks from Auckland Council Chief Executive Stephen Town.

8.       The creator of Connect Four has agreed in writing to allow Auckland Council to use the concept with CDEM branding and any other enhancements, relinquishing intellectual property rights.

9.       It is recommended that the committee support the adoption of the Connect Four concept into the suite of readiness tools provided by Auckland CDEM.


 

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

10.     For the purposes of preparing this report no local board views or implications were sought.

Māori impact statement

11.     The views of Māori were not considered nor are impacts on Māori covered in this report. 

Implementation

12.     The further development of this community readiness tool will be resourced through the CDEM work programme and costs recovered from within existing CDEM budgets.

 

Attachments

No.

Title

Page

aView

Connect Four Brochure

45

     

Signatories

Authors

Nicky  Tayler - Service Support Lead

Authorisers

Mara Bebich - Stakeholder Liasion Manager

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Public Alerting Systems Update

 

File No.: CP2015/17258

 

  

Purpose

1.       To seek approval from the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group (CDEM) Committee for capital works to maintain the tsunami sirens in Waitakere on the West Coast of Auckland.

2.       To provide an update on the investigations to decommission legacy systems and the ongoing review of the public alerting systems.

Executive Summary

3.       Legacy public alerting options such as the Rodney OPTN text alerting and the North Shore telephone tsunami warning system were decommissioned following approval from the committee on 16 June 2015.

4.       Investigations to ensure best practice public alerting options and prudent investment in public alerting systems continue. For example a number of factors are being considered in the review of the public alerting systems including costs to maintain existing systems, requirements to create a regional approach in public alerting, long term maintenance and timeframes for national alerting options to be implemented.

5.       However in the course of this review the current condition of the sirens on the west coast beaches of Bethels, Piha, Whatipu and Huia has revealed significant corrosion present on the existing sirens located in the Waitakere Region.

6.       At a national level two national public alerting options are being progressed, the Emergency Response system and a business case by MCDEM to push messages via a cell phone based system. 

7.       This report notes progress against these investigations and national level developments in this space. In addition it recommends that the tsunami siren system in Waitakere is maintained by replacing the corroding hardware on the west coast sirens in response to high levels of corrosion.

 

Recommendation

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      agree to maintain the fixed tsunami sirens in Waitakere by replacing corroded hardware in response to high levels of corrosion on a needs be basis.

 

Comments

Background

 

8.       As detailed in a report to the last CDEM Group Committee (committee) meeting (June 2015), the Auckland CDEM Group currently has a number of legacy council public alerting systems. Advances in technology, new international research and the increased cost of maintaining old systems necessitated a review of our current operational practices.

9.       Effective and reliable public alerting systems are essential for the effective management of emergency scenarios. A number of factors were considered in the development of the recommendations in that report  including the development of new technology, value for money, long term maintenance, the effectiveness of messaging alerts and appropriate alternatives.

10.     As part of the consideration of that report the committee resolved to approve the decommissioning of the legacy North Shore City Council telephone tsunami warning system and the legacy Rodney District Council text messaging service. In addition the committee also agreed that the decommissioning of the fixed sirens in Waitakere and Rodney should be investigated.

 

Decommission of Legacy Alerting Options

 

11.     Legacy public alerting options Rodney OPTN text alerting and the North Shore telephone tsunami warning system were decommissioned following approval from the committee  on 16 June 2015.

12.     Residents are being encouraged to sign up to alternative options including mobile phone applications, SMS messaging, to connect with vulnerable neighbours and to build resilience within their community.

13.     Options have been communicated via media releases to local newspapers, a television interview, direct contact through OPTN text alerting and the North Shore Tsunami Warning system.

14.     All registered users on the OPTN system were sent a message to advise them to move onto the existing text messaging service through the public alerting platform.

15.     Feedback received to date on this decommission have been minimal.

 

Maintaining Waitakere Tsunami Siren System

16.     Significant corrosion is present on the existing sirens located in the Waitakere Region on west coast beaches of Bethels, Piha, Whatipu and Huia.  Having an operational siren system in place these areas is considered essential and it is recommended that the assets are maintained pending the outcome of the review of all siren systems. 

17.     The Western Sirens need to be maintained by replacing corroded brackets and horns..

            National Public Alerting Options

18.     There are two national projects for public alerting; the Emergency Response System which will enable the public to select and call the emergency service required and provides the Emergency Services with the location of the mobile device to enable assistance to be dispatched rapidly.

19.     The second national alerting project is a business case put forward by MCDEM to provide a cellphone based system with the ability to push messages to all public mobiles without an application being downloaded.

20.     Both national projects have the potential to better resource our teams and mass communication methods in an emergency response scenario.

 

Public Alerting System Review Methodology

21.     The review of the public alerting system remains ongoing. As part of this review costs to maintain the current tsunami siren system in the Rodney and Waitakere districts will be reviewed and projected until 2020.

22.     Investigations will also be undertaken to outline the possible costs of installing tsunami sirens in other at risk areas within the Auckland region. The aim is to identify the costs attributed to continuing with tsunami sirens as a public alerting option and outline what is required to regionalise the system.

 

23.     The current sirens have three separate tones: 1. Alert, 2. Evacuate, and 3. All Clear. The new tsunami siren standard recommends voice messages to replace these fixed tones. To meet the MCDEM Tsunami Warning Sirens Technical standard [03/14] significant upgrades to the system are required. Costs to upgrade the current siren system to the MCDEM Tsunami technical standard allowing single tones or voice messaging is being investigated.

24.     The review will consider the costs and benefits of other current public alerting options including the, Helicopter siren and the Tsunado system.

25.     Costs and benefits of all options will be incorporated into a review of the public warning strategy with the aim of identifying a regional approach to public alerting for the Auckland Region through to 2020.  National options and timeframes will also be considered in confirming a regional approach going forward.

26.     The estimated completion date for this review and options development is early 2016. Following receipt and consideration of the review, the findings of the review will be brought to this committee. Options will also be communicated to local boards for input.

Conclusion

27.     An investigation into public alerting systems for the Auckland region remains ongoing. Initiation findings however have revealed a more urgent requirement to upgrade the corroding hardware.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

28.     This report is operational and does not require Local Board input.

Māori impact statement

29.     This report is operational and does not have any particular impact on Māori.

Implementation

30.     There are no implementation issues of note and the upgrade can be expended from within existing budgets.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.    

Signatories

Authors

Paul Clement, Manager Emergency Coordination Centre, Civil Defence & Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management

 


Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee

25 August 2015

 

Amendments to the National Civil Defence and Emergency Management Plan Order 2015

 

File No.: CP2015/17278

 

  

 

 

Purpose

1.       The purpose of this report is to update the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee on recent changes to the National CDEM Plan Order and to seek approval for feedback on the associated guidance document.

Executive Summary

2.       Recent amendments to the National CDEM Plan Order were enacted into legislation in June 2015.  These changes incorporate recommendations from the Christchurch earthquake review and extensive consultation with stakeholders to more comprehensively address risk reduction.

3.       This report recommends that the Chair and Deputy Chair are authorised to endorse feedback on the guide to the National Plan by 11 September 2015.

 

Recommendations

That the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee:

a)      receive the amendments to the National Civil Defence and Emergency Management Plan Order report

b)      approve the Chair and Deputy Chair to approve feedback on the Guide to the National Plan by 11 September 2015

 

 

Comments

1.       On 2 June 2015, recent amendments to the National Civil Defence and Emergency Management Plan Order (plan) were enacted into legislation.  The revised plan is the result of years of work and incorporates a number of recommendations of the Christchurch Earthquake Response Review Report, as well as feedback from stakeholders on the need to more comprehensively address risk reduction.

2.       Minister Kaye announced the significant milestone on our journey to learn from and incorporate lessons from the Canterbury earthquakes, as well as other emergencies that have occurred since the plan was first developed in 2005.

3.       Key changes to the plan order include:

§ Clarification of lead agencies roles, to provide greater understanding of who is responsible for planning the management of particular hazards during an emergency.  These include;

o   Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management for natural hazards

o   New Zealand Police for terrorism

o   Ministry for Primary Industries for biosecurity, food safety and drought

§ Identifying the important role the New Zealand Defence Force can play in an emergency.  Particularly identifying their role with evacuation, cordon management, aerial reconnaissance and deploying goods and services to affected communities.

§ Implementing new arrangements for building management, including building safety assessment to protect land

§ Better recognising the role of research and science organisations such as GNS Science and MetService

§ Enhancing welfare services arrangements to better meet the needs of affected communities during emergencies.

4.       A new version of the Guide to the National Plan has also been developed to facilitate implementation with calls for Group feedback due to MCDEM by 11 September 2015.

5.       The proposed changes to the guide have not yet been assessed. However as the CEG and CDEMG meet quarterly the timeframes do not allow for analysis and recommendations to be brought to the committee ahead of the feedback closing date.

6.       It is recommended that once the analysis and recommendations have been developed that the Chair and Deputy Chair approve this submission on behalf of the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

7.       The position adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for specific local boards.

Māori impact statement

8.       The position adopted in this report do not give rise to any issues for Māori

Implementation

9.       There are no additional implementation issues arising from this report.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.    

Signatories

Authors

Richard Woods, Head of Emergency Management Planning, Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Authorisers

John Dragicevich - Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management