Lack of public warning systems had significant impact on Hawke’s Bay communities during Cyclone Gabrielle, says Government Inquiry
A lack of public warning systems and public notifications, including evacuation alerts, had a significant impact on Hawke’s Bay communities during Cyclone Gabrielle, a Government Inquiry has found.
The Inquiry, led by former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, was set up by Government to review the response to Cyclone Gabrielle, and other North Island weather events last year.
The Inquiry found that a piecemeal approach was taken during the immediate response to the severe weather events – many aspects lacked coordination and situational awareness was poor.
The Inquiry found that some immediate response activities failed to perform as needed in Auckland for the Auckland Anniversary heavy rainfall, and in Hawke’s Bay for Cyclone Gabrielle, exacerbating the trauma felt by communities.
“Many people we heard from, particularly in Auckland and Hawke’s Bay, felt abandoned and let down by their council and the immediate CDEM response. Some councils pushed back against this perception. The Inquiry observed that there is a striking disconnect between communities and their councils in some places.”
The Inquiry found that urgent system change is required to meet the reality that New Zealand is facing more frequent and severe weather events.
“The Inquiry supports the continuation of locally led emergency management, with regional and national entities playing support and coordination roles. However, our
recommendations are for significant enhancements, including:
• people and their communities as an active, purposeful, and legislated fourth sphere of the system alongside local, regional, and central government.
• a comprehensive and inclusive public education programme and warning system that is easy to understand and includes manual systems when digital technology fails.
The report found that the sense that warnings were insufficient has undermined public confidence in councils, weather forecasting, and the wider emergency management system. “A comprehensive warning system is needed that is flexible enough to cover most, if not all, natural hazards, with a consistent approach across the country.”
“To support the warning system, communities should be empowered with the knowledge and resources to make locally specific decisions about when evacuation or other action is required and appropriate, while having regard to necessary safety considerations.”
The Inquiry found that CDEM readiness and response activities failed to perform as needed in Auckland for the Auckland Anniversary heavy rainfall, and in Hawke’s Bay for Cyclone Gabrielle.
“In Auckland, the lack of planning for the immediate response of a large-scale event exacerbated an already stressful situation. In Hawke’s Bay, a lack of public warning systems and public notifications, including evacuation alerts, significantly impacted communities.”
“In both regions, specific reviews of the immediate response were initiated, and we expect these to contribute to improving future responses.”
The Inquiry considers councils should issue warnings and public information to communities as early as possible when a potential hazard is identified.
“A comprehensive warning system is needed that is flexible enough to cover most, if not all, natural hazards, with a consistent approach to warnings across the country.”
The Inquiry considers this should be developed as a priority for implementation across the country.
“A comprehensive warning system should see a consistent but locally tailored approach implemented across the country. It should enable messages to be sent as early as possible after a potential hazard has been identified, have one source of truth from authorities and be clear on what actions are required from community members.”
“Trusted messengers like mayors, chairs, councillors and community leaders should be utilised to share messages, which should be translated into languages spoken in the community.”
The Inquiry found that there needs to be a range of channels for sharing warnings, including well-tested manual systems to use if communications are down.
“There also needs to be an ongoing national public education programme to ensure people know what kinds of warnings to expect and the actions required in severe weather events.”
