Damage caused to power lines during April's storms.
Damage caused to power lines during April's storms.
Tensions existed within Auckland's Civil Defence and emergency team during April's storm that affected more than half a million people and caused widespread power cuts, says an independent review.
The April 10 storm was characterised by unusually severe winds, but little in the way of heavy rainfall or flooding.
Many aspects of the response went well, according to the independent consultant, David Smol, who conducted a review into the response by the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Group Committee (ADCEM).
But the extent, duration and consequence of the power outages turned out to be much greater than initially anticipated and, in the view of many, was unacceptable given the scale of the event and the likely frequency of events of similar scale in the future, the report said.
The Smol report said all civil defence and emergency participants showed high levels of commitment to supporting the people of Auckland in the aftermath of the storm.
"With the exception of electricity-related impacts, infrastructure services were fully restored very quickly.
"A welfare response was mobilised at short-notice and involved high levels of collaborative working. Effective communication with the public, both direct and through engagement with the media, was maintained throughout the response," the report said.
Annetta Ellis was without power to her Titirangi home for 13 days. Photo / Michael Craig
It said some people interviewed for the report noted "some ongoing relationship tensions in and around the ACDEM Group". There was not a shared understanding of the way in which ACDEM members would collectively apply the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) methodology in a response, which was the source of concern for some.
Civil defence and emergency participants also identified opportunities to learn and to further strengthen capability to respond to future major natural hazard events.
Smol's report said the pressures that emerged in the response to the storm highlight the importance of using insights to help plan and practise for potentially larger storms that, for example, combine very strong winds and heavy rainfall.
The Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee will receive the report next Wednesday.
Committee chairwoman and Auckland councillor Sharon Stewart said the review is a thorough look at how each agency responded and offers up some recommendations for continuous improvement.
Kelston, west Auckland, resident Ingrid Blyth spending a night without power after the storm. Photo / Michael Craig
"We estimate that more than half a million Aucklanders were affected by this storm, in a variety of ways, necessitating a significant response from the council's emergency management and operations functions, emergency services, welfare and lifelines agencies.
"Mr Smol's report acknowledges a successful and sustained effort from our agencies, as well as some very useful recommendations to make future responses even more effective.
"We are experiencing more storm events across New Zealand as a result of changing climate patterns and storm impacts are being experienced by more people, as our population grows," Stewart said.
Report highlights and agencies' response
• Continue to build constructive relationships amongst group members at both operational and governance levels - already underway.
• Agree a common approach for use of the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) methodology – those agencies not using CIMS on a regular basis are addressing this gap and increasing their CIMs capabilities.
• Review call centre, website and app capacity for front line response agencies and explore interoperability opportunities – joint working groups are being formed to review this and improvements are already being made as part of the council's business as usual work programmes.
• Work with organisations like MetService on ways of anticipating nature and extent of storm predictions – build on existing relationship with MetService and review current internal monitoring systems for opportunities for technical improvement.
• Review mobilisation of the Emergency Coordination Centre, recruitment processes and mobilisation of staff, including staff support and coordination – new initiatives, including a weekly meeting and work programme of a 'peace time' Incident Management Team made up of response function leads have already been introduced to address this recommendation.
