Tairāwhiti Civil Defence systems impress Cook Island visitors

The Cook Islands delegation with council staff (from left) Nema Pacific disaster risk management programme manager Mary Bollen, Cook Islands emergency management planning and advisory co-ordinator Ella Napara, Cook Islands emergency management technical co-ordinator Stephano Tou, Mayor Rehette Stoltz, Temo general manager Ben Green, Nema principal adviser logistics Heidi Gallop, Noema Te Hau, representing the integration of private sector partners into emergency management, and Temo readiness and operations manager Marcus Tibble. Photo / Gisborne District Council

A delegation from the Cook Islands emergency management team picked up some useful tips from Tairāwhiti Civil Defence during a visit to the region in what was described as a “win-win”.

The Island’s technical co-ordinator, Stephano Tou, and planning and advisory co-ordinator, Ella Napara, had a brief visit to Tairāwhiti as part of their Nema (National Emergency Management Agency) supported trip to New Zealand.

They also visited Wellington and Palmerston North.

“I am already thinking about how we can replicate some of the systems Tairāwhiti has in place, using the tools we have available to us,” Tou said.

“We came here to see the ECC (Emergency Co-ordination Centre) design concept and the tools being used.”

“We’ll be taking from it the things that are suitable for us.”

Napara said the trip was “blowing my mind in a good way”.

“I like the systems here [in Tairāwhiti] – they are so impressive. Everything is there right at your fingertips. We want to build a system where all the data is collected and saved.”

Visitors saw the centre’s state-of-the-art desalination units, the solar-powered stations, a 50-litre water heater and the Common Operating Picture Project, which captures real-time data for responders and was recognised with an award at the Local Government NZ conference last year.

Tairāwhiti Emergency Management Office (Temo) general manager Ben Green said the visit was a ‘win-win’.

“We gain just as much when hosting international groups, given our dispersed communities, as well as the region being subject to being cut off,” he said.

“We often take for granted what resources and capabilities we have developed and embedded here in Tairāwhiti, however, and in context of the South Pacific, we actively collaborate with one another on the back of these events.”

The Cook Islands are made up of 15 islands, 13 of which are inhabited.

The Pacific nation’s biggest threat is cyclones, but climate change now means it regularly faces coastal inundation.