Surf lifesavers were responsible for rescuing scores of people during the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods. Photo / Surf Life Saving Northern Region
Surf lifesavers were responsible for rescuing scores of people during the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods. Photo / Surf Life Saving Northern Region
More insights have been revealed about what officials and emergency services discussed as Auckland faced unprecedented flooding in January 2023 – and what led to a local state of emergency being declared for the first time.
A coronial inquest into the deaths of 18 people during the Auckland Anniversary floodsand Cyclone Gabrielle that year is under way. Coroner Erin Woolley is holding the hearings.
When a controller is contacted, a situation – in this case, the worsening weather conditions – will have escalated to the point where a broader co-ordinated response may be required.
An urgent online (Teams) meeting with key personnel, including emergency services, was set up just after 5pm as he continued to drive home to the North Shore from the city centre.
“During this call, it very quickly became clear that there was a serious situation requiring activation of emergency functions.
“During the call, I chose to activate the emergency response and I formally took over as controller.”
The decision to declare a state of emergency in Auckland that day – particularly the timing of that declaration – has been a key topic in the inquest this week.
Clark said in deciding whether to recommend a declaration to then-Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, he considered the criteria in the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act of 2002.
Evacuations were part of the Auckland-wide Anniversary Weekend flood response action amidst record rainfall, but Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo says the district would cope well if a similar storm hit.
That included getting information from emergency services, namely Fire and Emergency NZ, Police and Hato Hone St John, as to whether they were able to deal with the situation or response.
He also considered the practical effect of a declaration, in that it would enable the use of particular emergency powers such as compulsory evacuations, entrance to properties and the closure of roads and public places.
“I had no hesitation about the prospect of recommending a declaration of a state of emergency,” he said.
“If it was clear the additional powers the declaration enabled were needed, I was willing to recommend a declaration.”
Then-Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and then PM Chris Hipkins front media a day after unprecedented heavy rain and flooding in Auckland in January 2023. Photo / Dean Purcell
At that first meeting, Clark said, he did not see that a declaration was required to improve co-ordination of the response. Emergency service personnel attending that meeting also expressed they were coping at that time, he said.
Clark said the concern was about first responders needing additional powers to enable their work.
Fire and Emergency NZ’s main concern was ensuring there were evacuation centres available for people who had been affected.
It was made clear in that first meeting, however, that a declaration of a state of emergency could happen at short notice.
Police would eventually make the first move, calling for a declaration minutes before the next scheduled meeting with officials and emergency service personnel at 8.30pm that night.
Members of the Police, St John, Fire and Emergency and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre expressed they were all under “extreme pressure” at that point.
“Having heard from emergency services, I was satisfied that a declaration was required,” Clark said.
It was at that second meeting that police notified those attending that there had likely been a fatality. A body had been found on the North Shore.
“This was the first notification of a fatality that evening. Although we were aware that the situation was dangerous at the first ... meeting, the report of a possible fatality was very upsetting news.”
