KEY POINTS:
Auckland councils will treble spending on civil defence, increase staff and open a dedicated emergency management centre amid fears of "land tsunamis".
They have agreed to a revised programme, which will see next year's budget leap to $1.77 million, to boost readiness for and respond to a disaster.
In September, an independent review criticised the region's civil defence plan's lack of reliable communications and warning capability.
"The budget will take emergency management to a new level," said Neil Morrison, who chairs the regional emergency management group committee. "It has become apparent that emergency management has been related to something that could happen in the future, like volcanic eruption. But with the advent of climate change it must take on a new dimension. We expect more extremes of weather such as cyclones and to be confronted with a series of crises such as flooding and huge land slips ... land tsunamis, really."
The review found areas of emergency management in Auckland needing significant improvement. It said the resourcing in terms of people and money was not adequate.
In response, the programme's aims include adding four full-time staff to the emergency management office and setting up a dedicated emergency operations centre and regional warning system.
At present, the emergency management office has one full-time worker - manager Jim Stephens, who shares space with city council workers in the Bledisloe office building, which is also the regional operations centre.
The offices were taken over by emergency services officials and specialist volunteers for recent exercises centring on a cyclone and tsunami which required evacuating people to at least 35m above sea level.
Mr Stephens said the shared space was inadequate and the mayors and councils backed the move to a dedicated operations office, with computers, plans and communications gear ready for action. The Auckland Regional Council has offered a space in its Pitt St headquarters.
Mr Stephens said the enlarged office team would work on assessing the resources needed, based on likely hazard scenarios. They would also take over some of the burden of civil defence projects from volunteers who have senior jobs with the councils and train members of the civil defence network.
