Communities across the country look back on the biggest storm to hit New Zealand this century.
Video / Corey Fleming / Zoe McIntosh / Getty Images
The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says it lacked the leadership experience and depth to deal with two major weather events sufficiently.
It comes after an internal review into Nema’s role during the North Island severe weather events of 2023 identified 19 lessons and associated recommendations to improve readiness, response and recovery capability for the future.
The report, released this morning, is separate to the Government inquiry into the response, but the lessons are “broadly consistent,” says Nema acting chief executive Jenna Rogers.
Nema’s report found the National Co-ordination Centre (NCC) and National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) facilities were “not fit for purpose”, especially for a response required for the scale of the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, and the technology used was “not reliable”.
“Science, intelligence and geospatial capability and capacity need to be enhanced to build situational awareness and support decision-making during emergencies,” the report stated.
An upside-down car which crashed through the side of a family's home in the Esk Valley, north of Napier, during Cyclone Gabrielle. The family were huddled in the ceiling at the time. Photo / Warren Buckland
Further findings showed there was a lack of emergency management leadership experience and depth within Nema and across the emergency management system.
At the peak of the response, the NCC/NCMC had about 135 staff from Nema and other agencies operating 24/7, running 13-hour shifts.
At the time, Nema had about 160 staff, half of whom had less than two years of emergency management experience, who covered operational, strategic and corporate functions.
“We do not have enough well-trained Nema staff or surge staff to deploy,” the report read.
It found deployment of emergency management professionals into affected regions was vital to support emergency response operations at local and regional levels.
Rogers said Nema was already implementing lessons identified from the event.
Flash flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through Esk Valley on February 14.
“This includes a requirement for Nema staff to devote 20 per cent of their time to strengthening their operational readiness, as well as streamlining the deployment process for surging support staff into impacted areas during emergencies.
“This year’s national Alpine Fault exercise will provide an opportunity to put those improvements into practice,” Rogers said.
Positive lessons learned from Nema’s response included the agency’s well-established relationships across the all-of-Government network, and internationally, it served well in its lead agency capacity. Furthermore, Nema’s staff “fostered an effective work environment” under challenging circumstances.
Rogers said Nema acknowledged local communities are still recovering and will “wear the scars of these events for some time”.
Cyclone Gabrielle damage at Karekare. Photo / RNZ
“Our thoughts are with the whānau of the 15 people who tragically lost their lives during these events.”
The findings come after a review of the Civil Defence response to Cyclone Gabrielle stated some emergency management staff left their jobs and even the Hawke’s Bay region due to public backlash regarding their performance.
In the overview, the review team, headed by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush, said just as local communities continue to grieve and suffer as they move towards recovery, the local councils’ emergency management staff have also been traumatised, and many had resigned.
Mike Bush, who was appointed to head the independent review, speaks in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Some have left the region altogether as a result of public backlash, amplified in a region with many small, close-knit communities,” it said. “Councils are finding it hard to recruit their replacements.”
The report also found while local emergency management staff may be “well-intentioned” about their roles, “they are inconsistently trained in the national Co-ordinated Incident Management System (CIMS), often lack operational experience and, as response moves into recovery, have fulltime day jobs with which to contend”.
Findings from the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events were released last month, highlighting that the emergency warning system which left many in Hawke’s Bay “feeling abandoned” and “let down” during Cyclone Gabrielle needs urgent improvement.
“We heard repeatedly from people in affected areas that they felt let down by the response,” the report, released by Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell, read.
“People we talked to had expected their councils and emergency services to respond quickly to provide resources, share clear information and warnings, and lead rescue efforts.
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The inquiry found flaws in the emergency warning system used during Cyclone Gabrielle, which was hampered by power and telecommunication outages.
Both Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods resulted in more 111 calls than emergency services were able to respond to.
“We heard from many community members in Hawke’s Bay that they felt let down by the emergency services response system,” the report read.
“They told us that some calls were not answered by emergency services operators, [and in some cases] emergency services operators told callers, ‘You are on your own’.”
A protest sign in Pākōwhai to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor
People were also told help which ultimately never arrived was coming.
“The inquiry recommends the Government commission a comprehensive review of the 111 system to ensure an effective, transparent and inter-operable service that can effectively draw on the resources of all emergency services, even in times of high demand,” the report read.
The 2023 Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle claimed the lives of two firefighters.
Volunteer firefighters - Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg - were killed by a landslide in the coastal community of Muriwai on February 13 last year.
Muriwai firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg (left) and Craig Stevens (right) both died in a landslide while helping at a damaged house in Muriwai during Cyclone Gabrielle.
The review, released last month, found firefighters rescued countless people impacted by the two events while managing other obligations, but there is room for improving its approach to weather-related events.
“The Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle have shown us that climate change will likely increase the incidence and consequence of extreme weather events,” the review found.
At the peak of the Auckland floods on January 27 between 4pm and 9pm, Fenz received 650 calls via the 111 service over one 30-minute period.
“We had to prioritise attending incidents where lives were threatened, or elderly or unwell people required rescue.”
Fenz Urban Search and Rescue personnel working with structural engineers assessing red-stickered homes in Titirangi after the devastating floods in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
Wood said severe weather response is a new and evolving capability for Fenz and is not a legislated main function.
He said Fenz is an organisation expert in fighting fires, providing specialist responses such as Urban Search and Rescue, and helping in other emergencies when the call is made.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
