Waitaki District Council staff are ready to do their bit to help out with the cyclone response effort up north.

Two members of the council building team are expected to be travelling to the North Island to help carry out rapid building assessments (RBA) following the devastation left by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) states statutory obligations under the Building Act 2004, and the National CDEM (Civil Defence Emergency Management) Plan Order 2015, to support in emergencies as available.

A number of building team members from the council are trained and experienced in RBA response, have been in touch with MBIE and attended an onboarding webinar, in anticipation of hearing where they are required soon.

Council senior building control officer Shane Napier said the team was prepared to provide assistance as required. 

“The upper North Island needs support, and the team is ready to assist in any way we can.”

Waitaki Emergency Management advisor Ewen Graham had already provided support to Auckland Emergency Management in the coordination centre for a week earlier in the month, and was on standby to return to the North Island.

“Just about every group is sending people to support in the response. This is on a rotating basis to keep all areas covered in the occurrence of another event across the country,”  he said.

Auckland was first hit by severe weather in late January and the Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty declared a National State of Emergency on Tuesday morning (February 14) in response to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle across the North Island.

Council has around 90 team members trained and prepared to move from their business-as-usual roles and into functions within the nationally recognised Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) framework.

Waitaki District Council heritage, environment and regulatory group manager Roger Cook was also a controller within CIMS for Waitaki and prepared to provide any assistance as required.

“Waitaki District Council continues to train team members and assist in any emergency,” he said.

Despite the amount of roadworks in progress around the Waitaki, council roading manager Mike Harrison said there was a chance contractors could be reassigned to help in the cyclone recovery, too.

“While our contractors have not been required to be redeployed at this time, we are aware it could happen as the full impacts of the devastation are realised.”

With the most recent Emergency Operations Centre event in Waitaki in July 2022, and Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough in August 2022, there was an increase in severe weather events, Ewen said, and it was recommended the community prepared now.

“Have a grab bag ready and a household emergency plan. 

“Remember power and WiFi can be down. A transistor radio, or the radio in your car can help keep you informed. 

“We also recommend signing up to Otago Gets Ready which is a free text and email service run by Otago Civil Defence and Emergency Management.”

https://otago.getsready.net/