Video: Another major review into Cyclone Gabrielle response due out this month
A major review of the response to Cyclone Gabrielle, and other North Island weather events last year, is expected to be released this month.
Former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae was commissioned last year to head a Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events.
The inquiry results were set to be released in March, but Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell’s office confirmed to Hawke’s Bay App that the findings will be made public on 23. The inquiry also includes John Ombler (CNZM QSO), Rangimarie Hunia and Hawke’s Bay local Julie Greene as members.
The inquiry follows another independent review of the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle, which was released last month. That review was launched in April last year by the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee. And the Independent Review Panel was headed by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
That review found that Cyclone Gabrielle highlighted the limitations and challenges inherent in New Zealand’s current emergency management model, particularly when it must address a severe and widespread disaster with multiple impacts and a lengthy recovery period, an independent review into the cyclone has found.
The review said even when the weather warning moved to Red on the Monday before the Cyclone, emergency management staff were reassured that Met Service predictions of rainfall quantums remained unchanged. The February 14 disaster killed eight and destroyed thousands of homes.
The Panel found that CDEM staff were overconfident about their readiness on the basis of prior emergency events such as COVID-19.
“They lacked a scenario planning mindset, had low multi - agency operational exercise experience and suffered from optimism bias. We have formed the view that they
tended to take a best case scenario rather than a precautionary approach to planning,
communication and warnings.”
“Communities, volunteers, the contractor sector, businesses and utility providers provided critical and heroic response activity. These local resources were not well utilised by the CDEM Group in the response to this event.”
The review says that from a CDEM perspective the response and early-stage recovery were based on personalities and relationships, as opposed to repeatable and proven systems and frameworks.
Addressing media after the release of the Panel’s findings, Bush said that while his report was separate from the Inquiry headed by Sir Jerry, they had been in contact.
“We did communicate with Sir Jerry and his team on a number of occasions. We haven't shared our reports, although ours is now publicly online. But we have spoken a number of times to ensure that there is compatibility and that there is a sharing of ideas.”
A third independent review commissioned by the Napier City Council found late last year that the Napier City Council was “hugely unprepared” for Cyclone Gabrielle in terms of Emergency Management capability.
The review, undertaken by Resilient Organisation Ltd., covers the Council’s internal response coordination, which includes crisis management and business continuity; and external response, which includes civil defence and emergency management.
Watch the accompanying view to see a media conference that Mike Bush held last month.
