Ruapehu District Council emergency management officer Simon Osborne explains the civil defence two-way radio set-up during a visit by Cubs and Scouts to the Taumarunui Emergency Operations Centre.
Ruapehu District Council emergency management officer Simon Osborne explains the civil defence two-way radio set-up during a visit by Cubs and Scouts to the Taumarunui Emergency Operations Centre.
Ruapehu District Council is working on a “whole-of-society” approach with the most recent improvements to its emergency management system before nationwide reforms.
The Emergency Management Bill, which is intended to replace the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, will update systems across New Zealand.
The reform is in response tothe Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events in 2023, including the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, which killed 15 people.
“A lot of people in New Zealand think civil defence is an amazing group of super-trained people, like our military, sitting in the background waiting for a big event,” Ruapehu District Council emergency management officer Simon Osborne said.
The “whole-of-society” approach, which has been laid out in the new bill, emphasises the importance of local communities having the tools and knowledge to keep themselves safe in emergency events, with the help of emergency responders.
“It’s about you and I and our wider communities working together prior to, during and then in the recovery phase,” Osborne said.
The council is working to implement this approach, as well as other emergency service updates outlined in the bill.
It recently hosted a Scouts and Cubs group visit at the Taumarunui Emergency Operations Centre, where Osborne spoke about civil defence as part of community education and engagement efforts.
Ruapehu District Council emergency management officer Simon Osborne spoke to local Cubs and Scouts during a visit to the Taumarunui Emergency Operations Centre.
Osborne said it was important for all people in the community to have basic skills on how to protect and look after themselves in emergency events, in case responders could not reach them for some time.
He said preparedness included talking to community groups “to help them help themselves”.
The updates made in Ruapehu include upgrading systems to the D4H emergency management platform to modernise and improve communication across all emergency services and agencies.
The council is also hosting emergency management skill development programmes for wardens, rescue and comprehensive first aid, Osborne said.
The main risks the Ruapehu region faced were severe weather events, earthquakes, tremors, volcanic eruptions and technological hazards such as transport accidents. The aim of all of the updates was to further equip the council and community to better deal with any of the potential events.
With the emphasis on involving everyone in the community, Osborne said, “it’s a true partnership”.
