Agenda of HB Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

HB CDEM Group Joint Committee

28 August 2023

Subject: Requests for inclusion in the HBRC Long Term Plan 2024-2034

Reason for report

1. This report requests the Joint Committee’s endorsement of the resourcing request to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) for inclusion in their Long Term Plan 2024-2034 (LTP).

Officers’ recommendations

2. Staff recommend the Joint Committee endorses a request to HBRC that the deficit in the CDEM Reserve, resulting from responses over the last three years, is recovered by an increase in the CDEM targeted rate over a period of five years commencing in the 2024-2025 financial year.

3. Staff also recommend that the Joint Committee supports that the increased resourcing and capability of the CDEM Group, as outlined in this report, be included in HBRC’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034.

Executive Summary

4. The cost of responding to a number of significant emergencies over the last three years has led to a projected deficit of $2,983,471 at the of this financial year.

5. There is a funding gap between existing CDEM funding and:

5.1. community expectations

5.2. additional unfunded requirements from central government

5.3. increasing momentum of climate change impacts, and

5.4. the increasing complexity of multi-agency responses.

6. Priority areas for filling capability gaps include:

6.1. Māori/tangata whenua partnerships and support

6.2. Operational response support and planning

6.3. Community engagement and support.

7. Financially the starting point is a challenge given response costs over the last three years. By 30 June 2024 it is estimated the CDEM Group reserve will be in deficit by $3m. To fund this deficit in an affordable manner it will need to be covered across a number of years.

8. There is a need for immediate investment to deal with post-Cyclone Gabrielle response matters and to support the recovery.

9. Further investment is needed over the life of the 2024 LTP to address new responsibilities under emergency management legislative reforms and increasing baseline costs largely driven by increased use of technology and rising community expectations.

10. Long-term investment is needed to raise the operational capability of the Group office which is the fulltime emergency management subject matter expert. This will enable the Group to better support councils, our communities and partners in an increasing and more complex hazard and response environment.

Background

11. At a workshop help on 26 June 2023 the Joint Committee was presented with background material for feedback on what resourcing was required to take the Group forward in effectively responding to events post-Cyclone Gabrielle. The workshop also looked ahead to how the Group could support the development of community resilience to disasters and the ongoing recovery actions being undertaken by recovery agencies and councils.

12. On 24 July 2023 a similar workshop was held with the Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) with feedback being considered as part of developing this paper.

13. Prior to Cyclone Gabrielle, the Group had undertaken reviews on the COVID-19 and Napier Floods 2020 responses which resulted in the report Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay (Attachment 7). The corrective actions identified in this report were incorporated into the Group Work Programme last year. Reporting on the progress of this programme was occurring at each CEG and Joint Committee meeting, with the last report to the Joint Committee being in November 2022. At the time of Cyclone Gabrielle, this programme was being implemented and a number of the projects added value to the response.

14. When the Work Programme was developed and approved, it was acknowledged that the resourcing of the Group needed to be reviewed because the work and investment identified would be difficult to achieve within existing funding levels. A review of funding was identified by the Joint Committee as being an appropriate as part of the LTP 2024 process. Prior to Cyclone Gabrielle, work had commenced on identifying the gaps between the desired level of service, capability required, and funding.

Current situation

15. The outstanding corrective actions from the report Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay were seen as a logical starting point in identifying resourcing requirements to support improving emergency management outcomes. When available, any corrective actions from Cyclone Gabrielle reviews will also provide input into the direction of the Group and future resourcing requirements.

16. Attachment 1 outlines the existing structure of the Group office including functions undertaken by individual roles.

17. Currently the Group budget is $2.9m. This includes staff costs, overheads and operational expenditure. In 2023-24 this will equate to a CDEM targeted rate of $43.96 (incl GST) per rateable property across the region (75,648 properties).

18. In establishing the CDEM budgets and reserve, the funding policy was that the costs of any response would be addressed at the time it occurred and if necessary, through borrowing and rate increases. The reserve was not intended as a pool of money to pay for a CDEM response, although smaller event costs were managed through the accumulation of small underspends in operational budgets which flowed through to the reserve.

19. The last three years has seen unprecedented response activities across Hawke’s Bay. At the end of the financial year 2021-22, the CDEM Reserve account is in deficit $797,000. This is a cumulative result of the costs of responding to the COVID-19 national state of emergency, the 2020 Napier floods and unbudgeted expenditure for completing the Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay review and implementing the resulting projects.

20. This deficit will increase to account for the Cyclone Gabrielle response costs. At the time of writing this paper the exact figure for 2022-23 is still being calculated and there is some ongoing uncertainty regarding NEMA claim approvals in particular.

21. As the income from approved NEMA claims will be accrued in 2023-24, it is more useful to look at the projected balance for the end of that financial year. This is estimated to be $2,983,471. Attachment 2 outlines the general situation with the CDEM Reserve.

2023-2024 Annual Plan and programmed expenditure

22. The HBRC 2023-2024 Annual Plan was developed towards the end of the Cyclone Gabrielle response. Addition funding requests were made at the time, based on the expected expenditure and resourcing that would be required as part of the post-Cyclone Gabrielle environment.

23. The areas identified were:

23.1. Operational administration

23.2. Iwi/Māori engagement and support

23.3. Emergency Management Advisor (Operational Planning)

23.4. Cyclone Gabrielle CDEM Operational Review.

24. The additional expenditure for these four areas totals $545,533, however, as there was no increase to the CDEM targeted rate, this is unfunded. Apart from the cost of the review which has already been incurred, the other three roles have not been implemented.

Discussion

25. As directed at previous meetings in 2022, work had begun on considering increasing CDEM Group resourcing as part of the 2024 Long Term Plan (LTP) process. Earlier this year work started on an Environmental Scan which would have been considered by the CEG at its February 2023 meeting, had that been held. This was to be used as a basis for scoping proposals for the Joint Committee and HBRC to consider in the LTP. While this was drafted prior to Cyclone Gabrielle, it has been updated to include discussion on the Emergency Management Bill and general observations on the overall system relating to the Cyclone Gabrielle experience (Attachment 3).

26. In looking at future resourcing, the work areas identified for consideration included:

26.1. Review of strategic direction

26.2. Operational readiness

26.3. Community/ tāngata whenua engagement and resilience

26.4. Risk reduction.

27. These are also on a list of assumptions being developed and key factors in the current post-Cyclone Gabrielle context (Attachment 4), the wider environmental scan mentioned and remaining work from the Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay report. There was also initial discussion with Group office staff about what the priority work areas should be, to ensure the Group is well placed to respond to any new events and build community resilience into the future.

28. From this initial scoping, gaps in capability or reasonable expectations were identified. While the Group is still awaiting the outcomes of various reviews, several of the gaps identified relate to matters already recognised in previous continuous improvement work and already being implemented prior to Cyclone Gabrielle.

29. A few relate directly to observations and experiences as part of the Cyclone Gabrielle response.

Review of strategic direction

30. The current Group Plan is due for review. Given the current Group Work Programme, the lessons expected from reviews into the response Cyclone Gabrielle, and any changes flowing from the Emergency Management Bill, it would be appropriate for this to commence in the next 6-12 months. This will require project management and considerable consultation with agencies and the public. There is no existing Group office capability to undertake this work beyond project support and overview.

31. Once the Group Plan review is completed, the Group Recovery Strategy and Framework will also need to be reviewed while considering the lessons from the current recovery to Cyclone Gabrielle.

Operational readiness

32. This area was also a focus of the Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay report and the current Group Work Programme. Attachment 5 outlines the outputs identified to help achieve the desired outcomes. These can be summarised as:

32.1. Post Cyclone Gabrielle and operational administration

32.2. Contingency planning

32.3. Implementing learnings

32.4. Operational systems (e.g. common operating platform and picture)

32.5. Training of incident management teams (ECC and EOCs)

32.6. Increased support to council controllers and EOCs in readiness and response

32.7. Increased operational capability at a senior level

32.8. Operational administration support to free up existing technical resources from more administrative tasks related to their roles.

33. Operational readiness outcomes are strongly driven by community expectations which develop and increase after each event. In the context of the Cyclone Gabrielle disaster, this will need a significant increase in capability to try to meet these expectations.

34. The other area of increased support is to local councils as they build and maintain their capability for staff incident management teams and emergency coordination centres. This is partially reflected in changes to the operational response model last year which has meant that HDC and NCC have had to develop a wider Incident Management Team (IMT), inclusive of welfare in particular.

Māori/Community engagement and resilience

35. The current work programme includes community resilience planning and public education. Community-led responses are a vital part of any CDEM response, especially in disasters of the magnitude of Cyclone Gabrielle. How these are supported within the more formal national/regional/local responses will always be challenging given the diversity of communities and the uneven impacts of any given event.

36. The proposed Emergency Management Bill (Bill) contains new provisions that will require the Group to identify and plan with communities that could be potentially disproportionally impacted. The Bill also contains new provisions regarding giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the emergency management context, and to recognise and enhance Māori participation in emergency management. This is all additional unfunded work which will need to occur.

37. While the Group was undertaking community resilience planning activities across the region (with the support of councils), we can expect that there will be increased interest from communities in furthering their own emergency preparedness. In the past, the resources were largely targeting coastal communities. Given the experience of Cyclone Gabrielle, increased focus and support will be needed for rural communities.

38. Community resilience planning needs to be done in conjunction with local councils and, in the current situation, local recovery agencies.

39. As mentioned, Māori participation in emergency management is another area of focus. This has been identified at a national level since the COVID 19 response in particular. The new Bill recognises the contribution and the need to partner with Māori in emergency management. Proposed changes include representation on the Joint Committee and CEG. Working in partnership with mana whenua in developing a better understanding of existing capabilities and supporting the development of this, will increase the Group’s overall capability to respond.

40. The recommended outputs for this area are identified in Attachment 5 and are summarised as:

40.1. Māori engagement and partnerships (increased support and development of partnerships)

40.2. Rural resilience (increased engagement with rural sector groups and facilitating community led resilience and response).

Risk reduction

41. This area considers long-term risk reduction which focuses on high impact/low probability events and includes matters such as climate change and sea level rise that would affect the risks.

42. The impacts of significant events such as Cyclone Gabrielle and the Canterbury Earthquakes often require difficult, and (for landowners) distressing decisions on the future use of land. This is in addition to major impacts on the safety of people when these events occur. The cost to the community of managed retreat options is significant and spans multiple generations.

43. Long-term risk reduction seeks to avoid or mitigate reasonably foreseeable impacts of significant events before they occur. This improves community safety and reduces the need for difficult decisions following an event.

44. It is important that decisions on spatial planning and future land use are made with the best information and science available regarding the nature and impacts of natural hazards into the future. This will require informed discussions on the amount of risk, what is acceptable risk to the community, and how to manage the residual risk.

45. The focus of additional resources in this area is to ensure that the long-term risks of natural hazards are identified, and decision-makers are aware of this when setting land use policy. The community also needs to be aware of the risks that they face where they live and work. This understanding of the risks helps to facilitate what to do about it and improves overall community resilience. Work in this area also contributes to community engagement and resilience, and operational readiness and planning.

Option identification and assessment

46. There are two sets of options to be considered by the Joint Committee. The first set addresses the deficit in the CDEM reserve. The second set revolves around future resourcing. The total financial impacts will be a combination of the two options selected.

CDEM Reserve rebalancing

47. Four options were identified for rebalancing the CDEM Reserve. The deficit amount used in the modelling is based on a projected estimate for the end of 2023-24 including the employment of the three additional, currently unfunded resources included in the Annual Plan at the start of 2024. The options are:

47.1. A one-off total repayment in 2024-25

47.2. Repayment over three years (life of LTP)

47.3. Repayment over five years

47.4. Repayment over 10 years.

48. The impacts of these repayment options of the CDEM targeted rate are outlined in Attachment 2. Officers are recommending the five-year repayment option to spread the load across current and future ratepayers while, at the same time, ensuring the CDEM Group is in a reasonable position to respond to events in the near future.

Future resourcing options

49. As part of identifying these options, it is useful to understand the priorities. A prioritisation process has been completed by staff, however the Joint Committee may take a different view which may flow through to the preferred options. The priorities identified in order, by area are:

49.1. Māori engagement and resilience

49.2. Operational administration and support

49.3. Operational planning and lessons management

49.4. Operational capability at a senior level

49.5. Community resilience (particularly rural communities)

49.6. Local TLA Readiness and Response Support

49.7. Long-term risk reduction.

50. Two options were identified for consideration. The ‘status quo’ option – with no increase in resourcing and funding – was considered and discarded given the views of the Joint Committee and CEG on the current situation post Cyclone Gabrielle. Increased expectations of the community and the increased requirements of the Bill mean this was not seen as a viable option.

51. However, the ‘status quo’ remains an option. This option would effectively mean a funding cut, and there would need to be significant reprioritisation and reductions in the levels of service in some areas.

52. A separate set of options (above) were developed to re-balance the CDEM reserve account. The option taken for this will impact on the amount of the CDEM target rate, on top of the impacts of any resourcing increase.

Increased resourcing option

53. This option seeks to put in place all the resourcing needed to help achieve the outputs and outcomes sought in Attachment 5 in this current year and over the three-year life of the 2024 HBRC LTP. The increased resourcing has been spread over the life of the LTP to spread the impact on the targeted rate over this period.

54. As mentioned earlier, $545,533 additional resourcing has been identified in the current 2023-24 Annual Plan, however, this is unfunded. For this option, it is assumed that if this additional resource was to be agreed, the actual cost would be reduced by 50% as it is unlikely that the recruitment process would be completed before the end of 2023. Whatever portion of the $545,533 funding is spent (including the review costs) will need to be added to the reserve deficit at the end of the financial year.

55. The following is a summary of the timing of increased resourcing proposed over the life of the 2024 LTP. This does not include the three roles and Review budget already identified in the current Annual Plan.

	2024-2025	2025-2026	2026-2027
Staffing	· Operational capability at a senior level · Community resilience (focused on rural communities)	Local TLA readiness and response support	Long-term risk reduction
Other operational costs	· Common operating IT tools · Signage · Group Plan review (one off) · Training (non CDEM staff) · Alternative communications · Storage costs · Community resilience planning	Ongoing, less Group Plan review	Ongoing, less Group Plan review

2024-2025

2025-2026

2026-2027

Staffing

· Operational capability at a senior level

· Community resilience (focused on rural communities)

Local TLA readiness and response support

Long-term risk reduction

Other operational costs

· Common operating IT tools

· Signage

· Group Plan review (one off)

· Training (non CDEM staff)

· Alternative communications

· Storage costs

· Community resilience planning

Ongoing, less Group Plan review

56. Attachment 6 outlines the financial implications of this option. This combines repaying the existing reserve deficit along with increased resourcing over the life of the LTP.

57. In summary what is proposed will result in a 50% increase in the targeted rate in year one of the LTP with subsequent increases of 1% in year two and 3.4% in year 3. The reasons for the large increase in year one are:

57.1. The start of the recovery of the reserve deficit (20% increase in existing targeted rate)

57.2. The additional one-off cost of the review of the Group Plan (2%)

57.3. Additional operational expenditure to cover increased costs and additional capability. There are also budget costs such as storage, which have only been incurred in the last year with the demolition of Heretaunga House and to store additional response equipment purchased and recovered during Cyclone Gabrielle (28%).

58. The 1% increase in year two reflects an additional staff resource balanced by the removal of the one-off group plan review cost.

59. Due to this being early in the LTP cycle, financial policy decisions on CPI increases and overhead allocation have yet to be made. The impact of these decisions has not been included in the financial modelling in Attachment 6.

60. At the meeting the financial accountant supporting the Group will be present and the model will be available to use in looking at different scenarios should the Committee wish to consider changes to the recommendations.

61. Within the recommended option there is the ability to reprioritise the recommended work areas. There is also the option of spreading the timeline of when additional resourcing will become available.

62. Another consideration is the level of uncertainty as to what lessons requiring investment will be identified as part of the reviews into the Cyclone Gabrielle response and the changes proposed in the Emergency Management Bill. This can be mitigated to a point by considering the existing corrective actions raised in the Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay report and by being flexible in the implementation of the recommended option over time, considering any new factors should they arise.

63. The main advantage of this option is that it provides the resourcing to help ensure the community and agencies are better prepared and coordinated for future events, and to take advantage of opportunities that arise during ongoing recovery activities. This includes the increased vulnerabilities post-Cyclone Gabrielle.

64. This option would spread the cost of improving CDEM capability over a few years, however, opportunities to support and improve the operational capability of councils and long-term risk reduction will be pushed out to years two and three.

65. There are variations of this option depending on the priorities set by the Joint Committee.

Strategic fit

66. Strategic alignment is outlined in Attachment 5.

Significance and Engagement Policy assessment

67. The decisions sought are recommendations to HBRC for inclusion in the LTP and as such are the first step in that process. The LTP process requires public consultation and calls for submissions, and therefore the consultation requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 and of HBRC’s Significance and Engagement Policy will be fulfilled through the LTP process.

Considerations of Tangata Whenua

68. In developing the resourcing request specific to Iwi/Māori engagement and partnership in emergency management, discussions were held with HBRC’s Māori Partnerships team and comments from the Māori Liaison function debrief were also considered. As a result, this capability area has been given high priority.

69. Should the funding request as part of the LTP succeed, engagement will occur to ensure the capability is developed with tāngata whenua.

Decision Making Process

70. The Joint Committee is required to make every decision in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements in relation to this item and have concluded:

70.1. The decision does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset, nor is it inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.

70.2. The use of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation and the recommendations of this report will need to be part of the consultative processes for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034.

70.3. The decision is not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy.

70.4. The persons affected by this decision are the public, and the recommendations if accepted will be part of the LTP process.

70.5. Given the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided, and also the persons likely to be affected by, or have an interest in the decisions made, Council can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting directly with the community or others having an interest in the decision.

Recommendations

That the Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Joint Committee:

1. Receives and considers the Requests for inclusion in the HBRC Long Term Plan 2024-2034 staff report.

2. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in HBRC’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that the Joint Committee can exercise its discretion and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community or persons likely to have an interest in the decision.

3. Endorses the following options as outlined in this report:

3.1. That CDEM Reserve deficit is recovered by an increase in the CDEM targeted rate over a period of five years commencing in 2024-2025.

3.2. Increased resourcing and capability of the CDEM Group as outlined in the following table.

2024-2025

2025-2026

2026-2027

Staffing

· Operational capability at a senior level

· Community resilience (focused on rural communities)

Local TLA Readiness and Response Support

Long term risk reduction

Other Operational Costs

· Common operating IT tools

· Signage

· Group Plan review (one off)

· Training (non CDEM staff)

· Alternative communications

· Storage costs

· Community resilience planning

4. That the Joint Committee recommends to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council that the options endorsed (above) are considered as part of the HBRC Long Term Plan 2024-2034 process.

Authored & Approved by:

Ian Macdonald

HB CDEM Group Controller / Manager

Attachment/s

1 ⇩	CDEM Group structure as at June 2023
2 ⇩	CDEM Reserve deficit options
3 ⇩	Environmental Scan - CDEM Group office capability and resourcing
4 ⇩	Future resourcing assumptions
5 ⇩	Strategic alignment assessment
6 ⇩	Financial impacts of additional resourcing
7 ⇨	Strengthening CDEM in Hawke's Bay	Under Separate Cover

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

HB CDEM Group Joint Committee

28 August 2023

Subject: GNS Science 2022 Level 3 Tsunami Modelling in Hawke's Bay

Reason for Report

1. This agenda item provides the Joint Committee with an update on the work associated with the Level 3 Tsunami Modelling for Hawke’s Bay report, including community engagement to socialise the report.

Executive Summary

2. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council commissioned the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS Science) to provide tsunamic hazard maps for Napier and surrounding areas in November 2021. To produce the 2022 report, GNS Science used the latest update to the National Tsunamic Hazard Model (NTHM), Level 3 (L3) LiDAR and computing power that was not available in 2011.

3. The new modelling is more accurate than previous models and is being utilised to make better decisions on the safety and long-term risk reductions through land use planning.

4. Since the report’s release in November 2022, HB CDEM Group has shown the data to communities and businesses from Cape Coast in the south to Pan Pac in the north - engaging with the majority of the area covered by the report.

Strategic Fit

5. This research contributes to Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Services and Infrastructure (Infrastructure & Services) and will assist with implementation of the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy.

Background

6. Preparations for catastrophic tsunami events became more of a priority after the 2011 tsunami in Japan. In the past decade, much work has been done on understanding the risks, especially from the Hikurangi subduction zone, and on public education including signage.

7. The Hawke's Bay CDEM Group completed Level 2 tsunami inundation modelling in 2014 and this was subsequently used to create evacuations zones (Red, Orange, Yellow). With the recent availability of Level 3 LiDAR mapping (suitable for spatial planning) and improved modelling techniques, a review of that inundation modelling was undertaken.

8. The GNS report is one link in a long chain of research that increases our understanding of regional natural hazards, in particular tsunamigenic earthquakes. It includes risks from local and far sources as well as climate change induced sea level rises.

9. The HB CDEM Group Joint Committee received the report on 28 November 2022, and resolved:

9.1. Receives and notes the Tangoio to Clifton Level 3 Tsunami Modelling staff report

9.2. Receives the Level 3 Tsunami Modelling for Hawke’s Bay report

9.3. Requests councils consider this new information for future spatial planning

9.4. Requests councils work with the CDEM Group on public information/education and key stakeholder engagement before the Joint Committee considers any further decisions on the matters raised in the Level 3 Tsunami Modelling for Hawke’s Bay report.

10. Although there are no further decisions required of the HB CDEM Group Joint Committee, staff believe an update on how the report is being used is worthwhile.

Discussion

11. Since November 2022, HB CDEM Group has shared the data with communities and businesses from Cape Coast in the south to Pan Pac in the north – engaging with the majority of the area covered by the report.

12. Community engagement was undertaken before and after Cyclone Gabrielle. The only difference noticed between the two time periods was a desire for more information on tsunami inundation after the cyclone, perhaps because that event increased awareness of natural hazards as a whole.

13. In addition to community engagement, the report is being used by the region’s councils to inform policy development, including preparation of the draft Issues and Options Discussion Document that the Napier-Hastings Future Development Strategy Joint Committee is progressing in readiness for public engagement. The GNS report will continue to inform future phases of the Future Development Strategy as well as HBRC’s implementation of the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy.

Next Steps

14. Since the report was first released in 2022, the data has been used by a variety of agencies such as EQC, GNS and NEMA. The new model is based on Level 3 (L3) LiDAR and computing power which is more accurate than the 2011 modelling, and is being utilised to make better decisions on the safety and long-term risk reductions through land use planning.

15. The National Tsunami Steering Group is expected to deliver NEMA Director’s Guidelines for setting national standards for tsunami evacuation zones and these are likely to require the redefining of these zones in HB. The new model will be used to set evacuation zones that minimise over-evacuation and allow for a more targeted and effective response to this hazard.

16. In anticipation of the report being more widely used the 2011 report will be replaced with the 2022 GNS Level 3 Tsunami Modelling for Hawke’s Bay report on the CDEM website.

Decision-making Process

17. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Joint Committee receives and notes the GNS Science 2022 - Level 3 Tsunami Modelling in Hawke's Bay staff report.

Authored by: Approved by:

Adam Childs

CDEM Team Leader Risk Reduction

Ian Macdonald

HB CDEM Group Controller / Manager

Attachment/s

1 ⇨

Tsunami Modelling Level 3 for Hawke's Bay

Under Separate Cover

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

HB CDEM Group Joint Committee

28 August 2023

Subject: Community engagement and resilience work update

Reason for Report

1. This item updates the Joint Committee on the community engagement and resilience work of the HBCDEM Group. At the moment this is largely in support of current recovery activities being undertaken by councils and other agencies in the region.

Executive Summary

2. A range of activities is being undertaken to ensure Hawke’s Bay communities understand the risks and are prepared to support themselves and others in the initial stages of an emergency, with a particular focus on communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Discussion

3. The following community resilience activities are currently underway.

4. The four locality plans provided by our TLAs to the Regional Recovery Agency in May identified priority communities in need of emergency preparedness plans, totalling 54 communities made up of:

4.1. 33 coastal and rural communities

4.2. 9 urban communities

4.3. 12 marae.

5. The Community Engagement team has since reviewed its community resilience strategy to align with locality plans as well as the CDEM Group Plan. Until the Regional Recovery Plan is made available our Emergency Management Advisors (EMAs) have been supporting TLAs and marae with emergency preparedness plans. Due to limited capability within the CDEM Group office, it soon became evident that there is a need to improve and sustain our region’s CDEM capability by way of a coordinated multi-agency approach, utilising shared resources from TLAs and agencies working in the emergency preparedness space.

6. The CDEM Group team coordinated an initial regional resilience workshop on 6 July 2023. From over 50 attendees, a Resilience Working Group (RWG) of 20 members representing iwi, emergency services, councils and relevant agencies has been established. Several meetings have identified priorities for the next 12 months which are:

6.1. Councils will advise the RWG of priority communities to be supported with emergency preparedness plans. The RWG will coordinate a 12-month plan to support these communities with their community resilience plans. Community resilience plans will sit within the relevant Community Plan and will be based on CDEM’s CRP template (Attachment 1) and/or Te Puni Kokiri’s marae emergency preparedness plan template (Attachment 2). Plans will be community-led and will be supported by the RWG. Finalised Community Resilience Plans will be made available on the CDEM website.

6.2. A CDEM training framework to be established for Council staff, iwi and partner agencies. This framework will also strengthen capacity and capability of CDEM volunteers in welfare, communications and rapid relief throughout the region.

6.3. Establish regional framework/guidelines on Civil Defence centres, community-led centres and marae in consultation with councils, iwi and hapū.

6.4. Establish a list of agreed emergency centres in consultation with councils, iwi and hapū.

7. Wairoa District Council has agreed to coordinate their community resilience planning at a local level. The domiciled CDEM Group staff will continue to support that Council’s priorities for emergency preparedness with the CDEM team available for any support required.

Civil Defence centres, community emergency hubs and marae

8. The RWG is currently working on guidelines for emergency centres. Plans to roll-out community-led hubs are underway and are based on Wellington Regional Emergency Management’s (WREMO) community emergency hub model. This model acknowledges communities that established hubs during the Cyclone Gabrielle response. Formal Civil Defence centres will remain the responsibility of councils and will provide multi-agency support. We respect how seamlessly marae stand up in times of community need and look to gain and incorporate learnings from iwi and hapū.

Coastal community resilience planning

9. Before Cyclone Gabrielle, community resilience planning was about to commence with coastal communities. Due to council locality plan priorities, and staffing capacity, these plans have now been put on hold.

Māori/CDEM relationships and partnerships

10. The Group office has recently put a case for additional staff to support Māori/CDEM partnerships. If agreed to, this will add value to the CDEM Community Engagement team and enhance current engagement with our Māori partners. The RWG is working with Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK) regarding the marae emergency preparedness programme that they run. This is being done to ensure that all marae emergency planning is completed in partnership with them.

Emergency management training programme for council staff and partners

11. Demand for emergency management training has been at an all-time high. National demand had made it difficult to secure additional training sessions with bookings at capacity for the remainder of the year. We are currently looking at alternative options to ensure that can we provide the required training for councils, iwi, hapū and partner agencies.

Community engagement staffing

12. Staffing capacity and capability is limited at present with two vacancies within the Community Engagement team. The recruitment process is well advanced for both roles, however there will need to be a period of training and induction before new staff become fully effective. With current priorities being to support Council’s community hui, community resilience plans and emergency management training, the team is extremely grateful for the support of a multi-agency approach through the RWG.

13. Tammy Arendse commenced early July 2023 in the Napier EMA role. NCC has also appointed a person to the newly-created role of Emergency Management Officer – that person will be starting in October 2023.

14. Senior EMA-Public Information, Robert Johnson, was recently seconded to the DPMC Cyclone Recovery Unit. Recruitment is underway for his fixed-term cover. This vacancy is being covered by team members with the support of the HBRC Communications team.

15. Recruitment is also underway for the Senior EMA–Group Welfare. The role is currently being covered by the Community Engagement Team Leader.

Decision-making process

16. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee receives and notes the Community engagement and resilience work update.

Authored by:

Audrey Tolua

Emergency Management Team Leader Engagement

Approved by:

Ian Macdonald

HB CDEM Group Controller / Manager

Attachment/s

1 ⇩	CDEM Community-led Response Plan template
2 ⇨	TPK Marae Emergency Preparedness Plan		Under Separate Cover

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

HB CDEM Group Joint Committee

28 August 2023

Subject: Group Operational capability and preparedness update

Reason for Report

1. This report provides the Joint Committee with an update on the operational capability and preparedness of the Group post-Cyclone Gabrielle. This includes input from individual councils and the Group Emergency Coordination Centre (GECC)/Group office.

Background

2. It has now been six months since Cyclone Gabrielle impacted Hawke’s Bay. During this period staff and supporting agencies were activated in the response – some for 11 weeks. After the first few weeks work began on the formal transition to recovery. Recovery structures and work were developed and by the end of April 2023 the official response (at a Group level) had ceased, and recovery structures had assumed responsibility for any residual response tasks.

3. Recovery work is of course ongoing and largely led by the five HB councils, iwi/mana whenua and central government.

4. The relevant point to note is that many of the staff involved in the response have then gone on to become heavily involved in recovery activities.

5. The current hazard risk environment is complex with weather events dominating. Since Cyclone Gabrielle there have been a number of watches and orange rain warnings from MetService that have required a response at some level. In June/July 2023 this included a series of orange rain warnings which required staff across the system to activate and monitor over weekends.

6. Currently the Group is taking a conservative approach to monitoring and, if necessary, responding to ensure our communities are reassured and have the information they need. This response often involves staff across the councils who are already intimately involved in recovery activities at a high tempo and under considerable stress. This ongoing response environment will impact on the Group’s ability to respond to a significant event.

7. The good weather over the last month has provided some respite.

8. The lead controllers at each council were asked to provide a snapshot of the work they are undertaking, particularly in operational preparedness; these are shown in the following paragraphs. Each council is different in terms of size, resources and challenges – this needs to be considered in reading this report.

Discussion on ongoing response capability

GECC/Group office

9. The staffing for the GECC largely comes from HBRC with the support of partner agencies such as the Emergency Services. Post-Cyclone Gabrielle, work has commenced with the HBRC People and Capability team to ensure that all new staff attend CDEM induction training and are then allocated to either the GECC (78 staff over two shifts) or the HBRC Incident Management Team (IMT).

10. Discussions have also been held with emergency services and NEMA as to how a significant response can be supported at both a Group and local level.

11. The Group office supplies a baseline of staff to activate in sudden impact events and manage many smaller events that do not warrant full activation. Currently Group office has three vacancies in senior operational roles and the recruitment process for filling these is advanced. Most Group office staff have been employed less than two years. However, the experience gained in Cyclone Gabrielle adds significant value and capability. In a tight market for experienced emergency management staff, the challenge will be retaining these staff members.

12. As staff have moved out of residual response activities, the Group office is reinvigorating the Group training programme. The Workforce Development Committee (representatives from all councils) has had a meeting, with another proposed for September 2023 to finalise the training programme for next year. In the interim the Group office has organised six CIMS4 courses over the next six months - equating to 132 attendees.

13. As an initial step, the Workforce Development Committee is also engaging with Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga to identify their training needs and how this can be supported and coordinated. It is intended that what is learnt from this will be used to engage with other iwi/mana whenua to support their operational capability development.

14. The Group office is also engaged with the other 15 Groups across the country to develop more advanced-function training packages. The primary driver for this is the inter-operability between different Groups in deployments such as occurred in the Cyclone Gabrielle response. This is being driven by the Groups due to delays at a national level, however, it is intended that the work being completed now will become the national framework. HB CDEM Group is one of four pilot Groups for this work; this training will add depth to the Group’s capability.

15. Over the next few weeks training is also being run for all Group office staff in advanced response indicators, activation and management. The Group office staff also runs a small desk-top exercise every month as part of their monthly meeting.

16. The HBRC Incident Management Team (IMT) is largely focused on the functions and assets of the council. The lead incident manager has advised that there has been high staff turnover and a number of staff are also involved in the flood protection rebuild. While staff continue to activate and respond to weather watches and warnings this is increasingly requiring the management of staff wellbeing.

17. The bad weather over June/July also impacted on rebuilds and required staff to manage these impacts. This continual cycle of response followed by repair work has taken a toll on staff. However, the recent run of good weather has enabled work to progress and staff to have respite over weekends.

18. New HBRC staff are required to attend CDEM induction, and a number have also attended coordinated incident management system (CIMS) courses managed by the Group office post-Cyclone Gabrielle.

19. At this stage there is no intention to run IMT training or exercises due to the team regularly activating and responding since Cyclone Gabrielle.

Wairoa District Council lead controller

20. The IMT focus is on training and development. Recently a foundation training session was delivered to new council operations staff. Further training for CIMS4 is scheduled for November 2023 in Wairoa. Attendees will include council operations staff. Another course date is being considered to allow for further participants to be trained in CIMS4. The intention is for all council employees to have training in the emergency management space.

21. The lead Local Controller has attended the standard controller training Response + Recovery Leadership Development Programme, to further develop their crisis leadership and qualify as a controller.

22. The Wairoa-domiciled Group Emergency Management Advisor and WDC Welfare Manager have a working project in place to assist whanau and marae with preparedness plans. The project has commenced in the north of the Wairoa district and will continue south. The key focus is to identify the pockets of communities that may need to be prepared to support themselves until support can reach them.

23. Isolated communities remain a high priority for welfare and roading operations staff supporting the affected whanau. The team is working on connecting this support to the community resilience pou of the local recovery plan.

24. Challenges – having a full function IMT using council staff. There has been staff turnover hence the focus on training new ones. The focus also needs to be on scenario exercises. Any response would benefit from surge support immediately when needing to respond to large events such as Cyclone Gabrielle. This would be coordinated through the Group office.

Hastings District Council

25. The Council’s on-call roster is now back on schedule after the Cyclone Gabrielle response. This has been broadened from 3 to 6 roles, including Controller, Response Manager, Public Information Manager, Intelligence, Planning and Welfare Manager.

26. There has been 13% staff turnover in the last 2 months and there is a need to fill vacancies (including a Controller role) within the four IMT teams. The internal IMT teams meet quarterly.

27. Two CIMS4 courses have been run since Cyclone Gabrielle and a further two courses will be run before the end of the year. The Group office is working with HDC to programme CIMS3 and Function training in 2024.

28. HDC is planning three CDEM and four business continuance plan (BCP) exercises over 2023-24 with the first exercise being held in August 2023.

29. Regarding capability, the council is engaging with staff to build awareness through participation in ‘Shakeout’ earthquake drills. BCP plans are being reviewed with a new template being developed to include three hazard-specific plans. The development of plans and capability to establish two civil defence centres is also occurring.

30. Challenges identified include the morale of all Council staff, and workload capacity issues reducing the motivation to be involved in an IMT and the heightened expectations from our communities.

Napier City Council

31. The operational preparedness of NCC has been reset following Cyclone Gabrielle, with function equipment restocked. Work has continued in the Microsoft Teams response site with several key improvements driven by our cyclone experience. A fresh set of templates has been developed in readiness for the next event.

32. Despite response fatigue, core IMT members have stepped up to complete training, with 20 of the Gabrielle response staff undertaking CIMS3 and CIMS4 training in July 2023. A further 10 staff are booked for the same courses in October 2023, and a further nine places have been secured in a joint Group/HBRC training session scheduled for November 2023.

33. The IMT focus currently is on training and development and is planned to expand into dual function-specific training in early 2024, to ensure an agile IMT. All new employees receive Civil Defence information, and a more comprehensive induction is being planned.

34. The process to identify a new Emergency Management Officer (EMO) to support the IMT is almost complete with the staff member expected to start in mid-October 2023. This role will be responsible for the implementation of five work streams identified by the existing Controllers, including the development of an alternative EOC.

35. Three of the four duty Controllers have successfully completed Response + Recovery Leadership Development training; the fourth Controller has significant response experience. The four-week rolling Controller roster was reinstated immediately after moving from response to recovery, post Cyclone Gabrielle.

36. The staff turnover challenges are reducing, and the implementation of the EMO role will allow the Napier IMT development to gain momentum.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council

37. There are currently 34 people trained in CIMS4 on the CHBDC IMT list. There has been an increase in training and overall response capability following Cyclone Gabrielle.

38. The challenge as a small local authority is that the councils BAU is comprised when IMT staff are responding to an event.

39. A Duty Managers handbook is currently under development – drawing on other resources from the Group. This will show the roles and responsibilities, contact details etc. and has been expanded to include infrastructure events. This will support CHBDC to monitor small to medium events and decrease the amount of time staff are on call.

40. The identification of new alternative EOCs in CHB is currently underway. A feasibility study for each proposed site will be undertaken, and this will be reported back to ELT for consideration. This will include marae locations.

41. CHBDC training for 2023 includes:

Introduction to Civil Defence Emergency Management	Completed by 22 staff
CIMS4	Completed by 18 staff & two Te Taiwhenua o Tamatea staff
Controller Development Course	Three new Controllers are undertaking this training in the next five months
Waiting list	12 staff are on the waiting list for CIMS 3-4
CIMS 3	Completed late 2022 by 28 staff

41.1. A drought/wildfire exercise will be run in November 2023 with FENZ.

Summary

42. This report identifies that there are several capability development activities being undertaken at both a Group and local authority level. There is also some initial work being undertaken with iwi.

43. While the last six months have been challenging, on balance the Group is well placed to respond to small to medium events should they occur. Large events such as a Cyclone Gabrielle or a large earthquake/tsunami will continue to be a challenge and realistically will always remain so. However, the Group currently has a baseline capability which will continue to strengthen as the recovery to Cyclone Gabrielle progresses, new staff are onboarded and trained, and corrective actions are identified and implemented.

44. In the meantime, the Group office will continue to have conversations, raise awareness and plan with other Groups, NEMA and our emergency partners regarding surge support for significant events.

45. Through the CEG this will need to be continually monitored and adjustments made if necessary.

46. It is suggested that the Joint Committee may, for assurance purposes, require that this report is provided on a six-monthly basis to give an overview of capability across the Group members.

Decision Making Process

47. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee receives and notes the Operational capability and preparedness update.

Authored & Approved by:

Ian Macdonald

HB CDEM Group Controller / Manager

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.