Some of the hubs are in rural halls and some are containers, dotted around rural communities, stocked with emergency supplies.
Hawke’s Bay councils say preparation played a key role in responding to the latest weather event.
The region was under an orange rain warning for about 24 hours from January 21.
While the impacts were light locally, other areas bore the brunt of the tropical storm, with states of emergency declared in Northland, Coromandel, Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty and Hauraki. Lives were lost.
It was a different story on February 14, 2023, when Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawke’s Bay, and subsequent inquiries found major failures by councils and civil defence. Eight people died.
We asked the council what they did differently this time.
Civil Defence controller Juanita Savage said early messages from MetService and their flood forecaster allowed Wairoa to begin preparing before the orange warning.
“We were able to start preparations with messaging, monitoring, checking drains, etc, so when we got the warning, our approach was underway.”
Wairoa connected with inter-agency partners - particularly Fire and Emergency New Zealand - and stood up a Civil Defence Incident Management Team early and gathered information to ensure emergency responses were in place if needed.
“We know our district is vulnerable to isolation and collaborating early ensured we were prepared.”
Savage said information from the community helped enable quick and effective responses.
Acting chief executive Dylan Muggeridge said the council started monitoring the weather system early, then worked with its community partners and emergency services.
“As the forecast became clearer and more definitive, we kicked into gear and implemented the processes we always follow.”
Muggeridge said the council evaluated the risk as well as checked on vulnerable communities and known stormwater flooding hotspots, and ensured coastal communities and campers were aware of the risks.
Council teams cleared drains and prepared for potential impacts.
“On Thursday morning, teams were in the community and on the road assessing any damage.”
Only minor surface flooding and debris on roads were reported.
Mayor Richard McGrath said the council was in a good position when the event began in terms of preparedness.
“We had roading and water crews out overnight and they continued to monitor the city’s infrastructure.”
More staff had been trained in CDEM roles, and the council has more generators, many being portable.
“We have community hubs around Napier and in the wider region and we spoke with those connectors so they were ready to help.”
McGrath said the stormwater and wastewater infrastructure was one of the biggest improvements, including new detention ponds at the wastewater treatment plant.
“This was the first time we activated them and they worked very well.”
In the past, almost three years, the council has made several changes in the community and internally, a council spokesperson said.
They said two significant material differences are the development of 30 Community Emergency Hubs and a fit-for-purpose incident management response system. The system digitally connects the emergency co-ordination team during an event, regardless of their ability to physically access a site, and centralises emergency-related templates and contact information in one platform.
In the build-up to a recent wildfire risk and this week’s rain warning, the council communicated directly to the community hub leads, who shared the information.
Residents were informed broadly via social media. The main messaging had been focused on roading and weather updates.
The spokesperson said emergency services and relevant agencies were co-ordinated in planning and council had staff, including an on-duty local controller, monitoring the situation overnight.
“Our three waters and roading contractors were monitoring road conditions, drains and pumps, and preliminary inquiries were made regarding potential evacuation sites in case they were needed.”
Chair Sophie Siers said they understood people needed timely and clear communication and reassurance.
“That’s why we now have the Extreme Weather Hub on our website, which gives people access to information and tools to help them understand and assess their own risk.”
Siers said a huge amount of work had gone into implementing the post-Cyclone Gabrielle flood review.
“For example, we have invested in enhanced flood forecasting and telemetry to monitor rainfall and river levels.”
She said that helps council’s flood modellers and provides data for the Extreme Weather Hub.
“We have stronger modelling tools, while also acknowledging that weather is unpredictable and encouraging the community to monitor conditions and take care.”
She said council had developed its work with MetService as a crucial link in the flood forecasting chain.
“Specifically in Wairoa, we have a new Wairoa Bar Management Plan, developed in partnership with the Wairoa District Council and Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa and informed by local expertise as well as our own staff.
“We have close working relationships with councils and HB Civil Defence and Emergency Management.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.