Wards said there had been an increase in demand from families needing food parcels.
"All of a sudden families are at home all day long and there is a heavier demand on their food supplies."
But another problem was that when families were forced to be together for a prolonged period of time there was tension and stress and in some instances emergency accommodation, food, clothing and bedding had to be provided quickly.
There had been calls for help from elderly members of the community and various ways of assisting them had been put in place.
Most of their concerns were around food but council staff also helped with picking up medication.
"If an elderly person needed groceries we had council staff go to the supermarket with a shopping list, and then deliver the items required. The person would then be sent an invoice from the council.
"This was a safe option as there was no swapping of pin numbers on eftpos cards. It was a mechanism we worked out early on to try and make the process as safe as possible."
Council staff had put in a huge effort, making sure they had protective gear on and ID cards on them when making deliveries. Wards said once this system had been set up the plan was for it to be sustainable.
"Staff would then make weekly or fortnightly calls to the people who had previously made use of the service to check whether they needed anything. This was never going to be one-off for us."
Wards said a great deal of work was carried out in the early days by her team of three.
"It was a well-oiled functioning system. It was very humbling and a real privilege to come in and lead such a productive and efficient team.
"All the networks I had built up in the past as head of the Dannevirke Community Hospital and chief executive of the Tararua Health Group meant we were able to begin operating quickly."
She said the emergency centre started operating "with a hiss and a roar" and had not really slowed down.
"Once the processes were put in place we found different issues were arising.
"We were then able to help with things such as the need for protective gear, extra supplies or helping people out of scenarios and helping them with accommodation and real basic necessities.
"In this time of crisis it brings out the best in people, but it also means that bad situations are a lot more enhanced.
"This community has always been resilient."
She said the agencies that operate within the community make sure that no-one falls through the cracks.
"Other councils approached the emergency response in different ways but my approach was that we have good agencies and support services that are already well connected."
When the announcement was made that the country was going into lockdown, Wards said all sorts of groups of people were rushing around wanting to help, but the challenge was always going to be how to manage that help.
"The ban on using elderly volunteers was limiting and there were a lot of very frustrated over 70s. But it did work as well. As a community we managed to look after our own."
With alert level 2 about to begin, the future was about recovery and taking care of the new vulnerable in the community.
"People have lost their jobs, families have been split up. We don't know what the scenarios are and what the welfare issues will be, but this will be the new normal."
Wards said a very solid foundation had been established to deal with any welfare issues.
"We understand the needs of the community."
While there had been challenges, Wards said she had loved every minute of managing the emergency centre.
"Thinking around the recovery and where it will go is like being back at Tararua Health Group where every day that you walked through the door was different."
*To contact the Emergency Operations Centre phone 0800 725 678.
