Janet Tyson: Common sense approach to crisis response

Prominent among suggestions after the review of the civil defence and emergency services' response to last February's floods is that a dedicated nationwide communications system (probably some kind of radio) should be set up for disaster management.

Fortunately, the time and cost of such an exercise will ensure that it won't happen soon.

Although it is acknowledged that some crucial communications breakdowns contributed to the problems during the Manawatu-Rangitikei emergency and that some technologies, including flood-warning systems and mobile-phone contacts, weren't equal to the task, we need to consider what most needs changing.

It seems to me that problems arose as much from the quality of the information available and the way it was used, as the failure of any infrastructure.

I understand that civil defence's main media efforts during the floods were targeted to and limited by the needs of television's 6pm news.

This proved highly effective in drawing the sympathetic support of viewers in warm and dry parts of the country.

But it ignored the possibilities of providing hourly updated information through the night, using the most obvious means of the existing radio stations; it also limited the use of newspapers, the logical place for detailed information of immediate importance to the region, such as which bridges were down.

Another alarming recommendation from the review is for a single consolidated mapping system showing all residential dwellings, infrastructure and geographical features, accessible to and agreed on by all levels of emergency management.

At present, it seems, they aren't all working from the same map. Imagine what that means when giving directions over a faltering phone line in a howling gale.

It's a fortunate coincidence that this report arrives at a time we're having a major review of the 111 services. As rural residents well know, and the flood review also spells out, emergency service issues are magnified by the geographic and communications challenges of farming communities.

Rural Women New Zealand has pointed out the need to standardise the way the system of rapid response numbering is applied and used across the country, as local variations greatly limit its effectiveness.

Coincidentally, New Zealand Post is seeking feedback on ways to revamp its postcode system, including removing duplicate street names within a code.

Under our present set-up, it is highly likely that a central call centre will take your emergency call, but district variations could delay the arrival of the help you need.

Something is back to front here. Maybe we should focus on centralised standards for information to be used in emergencies and a more localised system to handle calls with maybe another number to call for non-life-threatening emergencies.

This all adds up to a suggestion that some common sense solutions should be applied before we invest in silver bullets.

And one of the most significant common sense suggestions, somewhat buried in the jargon of the flood review summary, is that everyone needs to take more responsibility for their own preparedness and survival in event of an emergency.

No country, let alone a small one with a longitudinally scattered population like New Zealand, can afford to set up systems to cover every eventuality.

Especially as the emergency we are all most likely to face - the big, destructive earthquake - will arrive without any warnings at all.

* Janet Tyson is president of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists.