Recovery Manager's Forum

Recovery Managers in the Manawatu-Wanganui CDEM Group will be given an opportunity to meet and discuss a range of recovery issues for the Group. In addition, some of the issues that will come out of Exercise Tangaroa can be discussed, even though two of the eight local authorities don't have any coastline.

Recovery Managers tend to be forgotten a little, or lumped in with Controllers when we do something for them. This forum will focus on recovery and the advances that have been made in recovery since the 2004 floods, which tend to be the benchmark around these parts. The forum will be on the 4th November, which is after Tangaroa and before the Ministry's Recovery Manager's Workshop in December.

Keeping an eye on river height alarms

Horizons Regional Council has for many years now been issuing river height alarms to subscribers through an automated telephone system. Recent developments in mapping capability have now enabled staff to monitor when and where the alarms are being dialed out.

The system is intended as an in-house viewer with low level alarms show up as a blue diamond, alarms that the Operations Duty Officer receives are orange triangles and alarms that the Emergency Management Duty Officer receives are red stars. At a glance, we can see where the areas of concern are.

In addition to this basic information, links within the 'fly-out' take you to the public hydrograph (visible to the public via the Horizons website) and a list of alarm level subscribers showing when they were called, whether they acknowledged the alarm or not and their name and telephone number (only available to staff).

This is the sort of technology that helps duty officers keep an eye on what's going on. I'll certainly be keeping this window open over the weekend.

Second wave of H1N1

This from MidCentral DHB:

New Zealand is experiencing the second wave of Pandemic A (H1N1) 2009. Influenza activity is continuing to increase, but so far it is looking more like a seasonal flu wave than the 2009 pandemic wave. Areas in which there were fewer cases and/or hospitalisations in 2009 appear to be experiencing higher rates than others regions so far this winter.

The great majority of positive influenza swabs are still either Pandemic H1N1 or influenza A – un-subtyped (most likely Pandemic H1N1). The nature of the virus remains unchanged and is still sensitive to antiviral medication.

Key messages in the NZ response continue to focus on:

• getting vaccinated against seasonal influenza which includes protection against swine flu: there is still time but act quickly
• washing and drying hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes and staying at home if you are sick: a new media campaign has commenced
• phoning for medical advice early (GP or Healthline on 0800 611 116) for anyone with symptoms of influenza, to be assessed for antiviral medicine and other treatment, particularly if they have underlying health conditions. This is also important for pregnant women, who appear to be at particular risk of more severe illness.

Cases of influenza like illness in the Manawatu are still below baseline level although this has increased in recent weeks. Schools are currently reporting increases in absenteeism and they are being monitored weekly by Public Health.

For further information go to the MoH website.

CDEM Resilience Fund on the way

Director John Hamilton has recently written to all local authorities outlining plans for a contestable fund. The contents of the letter are...

"I am writing to you to advise of the establishment of the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Resilience Fund that will support the development of civil defence emergency management capability in local government. The Minister of Civil Defence has approved an arrangement that will replace the previous reimbursement by the central government of a proportion of local authority civil defence emergency management expenditure. The funds allocated will now be directed towards local authority led projects that demonstrate a contribution towards resilience and address identified sector priorities. The goal is to ensure the allocation provides maximum value towards enhancing resilience, achieves a more strategic focus, and encourages collaboration across the CDEM Groups and local authorities.

Since 1966 the government has provided to local authorities a subsidy to support the development of civil defence capability. Recently, the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has overseen the distribution of these funds to local authorities on a pro rata basis: all local authorities were refunded a percentage of their total civil defence emergency management expenditure. A review of the allocation of the subsidy determined that this approach was delivering poor value for money. On that basis, the Minister of Civil Defence agreed that the subsidy should be replaced with a contestable fund process that the allocation of funds would be linked to demonstrated improvements in civil defence emergency management and community resilience.

The process for the CDEM Resilience Fund

The Ministry has therefore developed a process for the management of the CDEM Resilience Fund that is outlined in the attached document. The allocation of the fund to projects will be guided by the priorities identified by the sector, identified gaps in the sector, the value to the wider CDEM sector, ability to deliver, and the value for money of the proposed deliverables. The Ministry will monitor the delivery of the projects and support collaboration across local authorities and CDEM Groups in undertaking projects.

To determine the priorities for the allocation of the CDEM Resilience Fund, we will establish a forum of the 16 Chairs of the Coordinating Executive Groups. I wish to hold this forum in October to enable the chairs to discuss possible priorities and areas for collaboration for the 2011/12 financial year onwards. It will provide the opportunity to discuss the strategic challenges facing CDEM across the nation and provide the opportunity for the CDEM Groups to discuss areas of possible cooperation. I will be contacting each of the 16 Chairs directly to discuss their attendance at this forum.

Once the forum of CEG Chairs has determined the priorities for the forthcoming round of the fund, they will be communicated to all local authorities and the CDEM Group offices to enable the early development of proposals. An independent evaluation committee will review the proposals against the criteria established by the CEG Chair Forum. It will also investigate the possible mergers of proposals to enhance collaboration and maximise the benefit gained. The evaluation committee will consist of members of CDEM partner agencies.

Transitional arrangements for 2010/11

The full CDEM Resilience Fund process will operate for the allocation in the 2011/12 financial year. The extended timeframe for the process of selection cannot be implemented for this financial year and a transitional arrangement will be required for 2010/11.

Local authorities are therefore requested to apply for funding for projects in the CDEM area by 10 October. No strategic priorities will be set for this financial year to rank the applications. The evaluation committee will also not seek to merge or link similar projects in this round. Proposals can be supported by a multiple of local authorities or CDEM Group(s). However, that will be based on the initiative of local authorities involved. As long as the proposals are compatible with the principles and criteria for eligibility outlined in the guideline for the CDEM Resilience Fund (attached) and are within the proposed allocation for that local authority, the Ministry will approve the allocation.

To simplify the process for the transitional period, a proposed funding amount for local authorities is proposed. This is to provide a guide for the consideration of proposals and simplify the process for deciding on funding allocation. Proposals may exceed that amount, but then approval will be dependent on the availability of funding.

The proposed funding amount for local authorities is $9,000 per authority with the exception of the new amalgamated Auckland Council allocated up to $72,000, and each of the other unitary authorities (Marlborough, Nelson-Tasman, Gisborne, and Chatham Islands) being proposed $30,000. Authorities can make joint applications through which they can combine their proposed funding amount.

The way ahead

The CDEM Resilience Fund provides a mechanism for the local government CDEM sector to collaboratively identify priorities and establish joint projects to maximise the benefits gained from the subsidy provided by the government. I appreciate that this approach will also place an administrative burden on those involved and inevitably there will be teething problems with the new system. However, I believe that this approach will pay increasing dividends as the process becomes embedded and areas of collaboration are identified.

Yours sincerely,

John Hamilton

Director"

Ministry publishes tsunami videos

On 29 September 2009 a deadly tsunami hit the South Pacific, claiming over 180 lives in Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa. The tsunami was triggered by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake at 06:48, just south of Samoa, and arrived within minutes. There was no time for an official warning. Many lives were saved because people recognised the natural warning signs of a tsunami and were able to get away quickly to a safe area.

In these video clips, New Zealanders who survived the tsunami share their experiences in the hope that it will help others have a better understanding of what happens during a tsunami, and how acting quickly can save lives.

Tsunami - When minutes count: Part 1

Tsunami - When minutes count: Part 2

There are more video interviews on the MCDEM website here.

Wellington Earthquake Initial Response Plan

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has just released the Response Plan.

A major earthquake in the Wellington region is one of the worst scenarios for a natural hazard disaster that could be faced by New Zealand. This is due in part to Wellington’s population density, it being the seat of government, its economic importance, and its role as a key transport hub. In addition, a major earthquake in the Wellington region is likely to severely restrict the ability of authorities to coordinate and control the national response. In most other scenarios the ability of authorities to coordinate and control the response would remain largely intact.

The plan provided in this document has been created to show the concept of operations for the response to a major Wellington earthquake. It shows agreed roles and responsibilities for agencies participating in the response. The plan ensures that the national level response is co-ordinated, can be activated immediately and automatically, and is as effective and as efficient as possible within the constraints of this event.

Here is the link to a copy of the Plan

Ministry praises region’s emergency response planning

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management Capability Assessment Report has commended the Manawatu-Wanganui Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group’s emergency response.

The report carried out in March 2010 states that: “the Manawatu-Wanganui Group is a model of how CDEM Group members should work together to achieve common goals. The benefits and efficiencies of doing so are evident, in terms of shared resources, peer support among Emergency Management Officers, coordinated planning, and development of transferable skills and training. Given the Group has eight local authorities and a significant geographic area, it is a credit to them that they have been able to develop this sense of cooperation and collaborative working – by no means a given in other CDEM Groups.”

The CDEM Group is based on regional boundaries and combines 8 x councils (Horizons, Ruapehu, Wanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu, Tararua, Palmerston North, and Horowhenua), emergency services and health boards. It takes a highly coordinated approach to emergency management in the region.

CDEM Joint Committee chairman, Garrick Murfitt said the report is a pleasing reflection of the hard work and dedication of the Group.

“Public safety is paramount and responding to emergencies is a core function of the regional, city and district councils. It’s important that our response capability is robust and this report confirms that we are well on track,” says Mr Murfitt.

The report identifies three areas where improvements could be made: regional welfare coordination, recovery planning and business continuity.

Manager of the Groups Emergency Management Office, Shane Bayley says these areas will form the key focus for the Group over the next year.