HB
CDEM Group Joint Committee
25 March
2024
Subject: Independent review into the
HB CDEM Group response to Cyclone Gabrielle
Reason for report
1. This report provides
background and an overview of the scope,
procurement processes and methodology for the conduct of the Independent review into Hawke’s Bay Civil
Defence Emergency Management Group’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle (the review) to support the Bush International
Consulting Limited brief on the findings and recommendations from the review.
2. This report
also provides a snapshot of Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group activities since
Cyclone Gabrielle to highlight growth in Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group
capability over the last 12 months.
3. Mr Bush of
Bush International Consulting Limited, will be present at the meeting to formally
present the findings and to release the Independent Review Report to the
Committee.
Officers’
recommendations
4. Council officers recommend
that the Joint Committee accepts the findings of the Independent Review into
the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group response to
Cyclone Gabrielle in full, and that the Coordinating Executives Group is
asked to provide, at pace, an implementation programme to achieve the step
change sought by those findings.
Executive
Summary
5. Cyclone Gabrielle caused
significant flooding, damage to critical infrastructure, widespread damage to
homes and businesses, and significant impact across the horticultural and rural
communities in Hawke’s Bay. Eight Hawke’s Bay people lost
their lives during the cyclone.
6. The
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Joint Committee committed to Hawke’s Bay
communities that an independent review of the Cyclone Gabrielle response would
be completed. A Terms of Reference (ToR) and Framework for the review
were approved by the Joint Committee on
26 June 2023.
7. The purpose of
the independent review was to assess the operational performance of the
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group’s (the Group)
response to Cyclone Gabrielle, with a particular emphasis on:
7.1. the systems and
processes
7.2. roles and
responsibilities of Group members and partners
7.3. and to what
extent the implementation of pre-existing arrangements contributed to the
effective management of the response for mana whenua and the community.
8. A robust procurement
process was conducted to source a contractor in accordance with the
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Procurement Guidelines. Bush
International Consulting Limited was confirmed as the successful contractor
following the procurement process and formally engaged on 24 August 2023 to
undertake the review.
9. Since Cyclone
Gabrielle, work has continued on HB
CDEM’s priority work streams in alignment with the 2022-2024 Work
Programme and previous review priorities in
parallel with the review. It is noted that the progress on many of the
priority areas was hindered by the ongoing response to Cyclone Gabrielle,
however has been boosted in the last six months as the transition to recovery
has occurred.
Background
10. Cyclone Gabrielle caused
significant flooding, damage to critical infrastructure, widespread damage to
homes and businesses and significant impact across the horticultural and rural
communities in Hawke’s Bay. Eight Hawke’s Bay people lost
their lives during the cyclone.
11. In the days leading up to
Cyclone Gabrielle, the MetService forecast indicated significant impacts for
the upper North Island, north of Tairāwhiti. In their review[1],
the MetService identified that modelling did not accurately reflect rainfall
volume and locations across a number of catchments in Hawke’s Bay and
this flowed through to their forecast. The impacts on major river systems were
modelled by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council based on this forecast.
12. National
Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA) has
subsequently completed a scientific assessment of the flood flows that
occurred at 20 river gauging sites across Hawke’s Bay during Cyclone
Gabrielle. In its report[2]
NIWA
described that Cyclone
Gabrielle represented a very severe flood event over the entire Hawke’s
Bay region.
13. The
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Joint Committee committed to Hawke’s Bay
communities that an independent review of the CDEM Group’s response to
Cyclone Gabrielle would be undertaken. This review was intended to give the
communities of Hawke’s Bay confidence that lessons learned from the event
will be used to improve future emergency event responses. The key
background aspects to the review are discussed following.
Development
of the review scope
14. The review’s Terms
of Reference (ToR) and Framework to support the review were developed in
consultation with Joint Committee members and Te Kahui Ohanga o Takitimu
(TKO). A clear focus of the review was the requirement for the
communities to have the opportunity to give voice to how Cyclone Gabrielle had
impacted them. The Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group
Joint Committee approved the review ToR[3]
and Framework[4]
on 26 June 2023, having previously provided feedback and clear outcomes being
sought from the review.
15. The purpose of
the independent review was to assess the operational performance of the
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group’s (the Group)
response to Cyclone Gabrielle, with a particular emphasis on:
15.1. the systems and
processes
15.2. roles and
responsibilities of Group members and partners, and
15.3. to what extent
the implementation of pre-existing arrangements contributed to the effective
management of the response for mana whenua and the community.
16. The review was to focus on
the timeframe between the initial warning of the cyclone through to the
demobilisation of the Group Emergency Coordination Centre (9 February –
end-April 2023), including the termination of the State of National Emergency[5],.
17. Review outcomes
were to focud on improving resilience and ensuring that the Hawke’s Bay
CDEM Group has robust emergency management capability and capacity before,
during and after an emergency to support better emergency management outcomes
for Hawke’s Bay. Review
findings were to outline strengths and areas for improvement and will inform
the Hawke's Bay CDEM Group work programme aligned to the Hawke's Bay CDEM Group
Plan.
Procurement to support the review
18. To support sourcing of
appropriate contractors to undertake the review based on the agreed ToR and
Framework, and to provide transparency that robust and current processes were
followed, procurement was conducted in accordance with Hawke’s Bay
Regional Council’s Procurement Guidelines with support from the Hawke's
Bay Regional Council Procurement Team. The process and associated timeframes
for procurement were endorsed by the Joint Committee on 26 June 2023.
19. The procurement process
involved the development of a comprehensive procurement plan and Request for
Proposals including:
19.1. supporting documentation
19.2. pre-market engagement
19.3. advertisement through the
Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS), and
19.4. establishment of a Panel
for proposal evaluation and preferred contractor recommendation.
20. Subsequent to the
Evaluation Panel decision on a preferred contractor, contract negotiation and
award and finalisation of contractual arrangements processes were conducted,
resulting in Bush International Consulting Limited being engaged on 24 August
2023 to undertake the review.
Review
methodology
21. The methodology
for the Bush International Consulting Limited review followed the guidance
detailed in the review’s ToR
and Framework, with the development of a detailed Project Plan to support the
review. Mr Bush’s report will speak further to the specific
methodology used. In summary, the activities to inform the
review outcomes included:
21.1. Documentation
review – of internal Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group and external
agencies’ documentation.
21.2. Interviews and
engagement – conducting interviews at the local, regional and national
level with individuals across multiple agencies involved in the response to
Cyclone Gabrielle and engagement with Te Kahui Ohanga o Takitimu (TKO).
21.3. Community engagement
– with community representatives through the facilitation of Community
Focus Groups, engagement with iwi,
hapū
and Marae, and analysis of data captured from approximately 1000 community
responses to a survey specifically designed
for the review.
21.4. Review of draft
Review Report – using a Review Advisory Group with representatives from
mana whenua, welfare, lifelines and CDEM for technical expertise to provide
guidance on the draft report and themes; and engaging with other key
subject-matter experts involved in the Cyclone Gabrielle response for technical
fact-checking.
Hawke’s
Bay CDEM Group activities
22. Since Cyclone
Gabrielle, work has continued in alignment
with the 2022-2024 Work Programme.[6]
This Work Programme was under way pre-Cyclone Gabrielle and includes a series
of ‘priority one’ work streams across Risk Reduction, Community
Resilience, Operational Readiness, Recovery, and Governance and Management.
23. A snapshot of
the comprehensive work conducted at local and CDEM Group level since Cyclone
Gabrielle has been developed to highlight that significant work has
continued in parallel with review activities (Figure
1). The work shown in the snapshot
has occurred since the response to Cyclone Gabrielle, and the demobilisation of
Group and local response arrangements and debriefing, which were ongoing into
May 2023.
24. The
snapshot is not an exhaustive list of the work completed. Substantially,
community leadership has and always will play an important role in the network
that is Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency
Management. The scale and scope of activities that
have been undertaken across the Hawke’s Bay region by communities is also
significant. Whether updating community phone trees or re-establishing
local Community Watch Networks, these important actions all form the network of
community resilience and preparedness outcomes.
Figure 1: Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Work Programme Snapshot (May
2023-March 2024)
25. The
next section of the report outlines all of the work that has been completed or
is under way since the response to Cyclone Gabrielle.
This work involves the agencies and local authorities that make up the
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group and includes:
Risk Reduction
25.1. Risk Reduction
programmes in the short-term remained focused on hazard research, hazard
information dissemination, tsunami risk reduction, and support to the long-term
Risk Reduction and Hazard Policy. There has been ongoing
work on the Tsunami Risk Reduction Programme with the review of Tsunami
Evacuation Zones based on updated tsunami modelling[7]
including engagement with coastal local authorities and communities.
25.2. Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Office Emergency Management
permanent staff are supporting the Hawke’s Bay Regional
Council in the review of polices for all natural hazards impacting the
Hawke’s Bay region, in consideration of climate change and urban
development.
25.3. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is leading the 3-year project to
upgrade the River Telemetry System which commenced post-Cyclone
Gabrielle. This project is a site-by-site review and equipment
replacement to support future site resilience. Noting that the
Hawke’s Bay Independent Flood Review is still in progress, flood
modelling work is also under way in consideration of data from the NIWA
Cyclone Gabrielle Analysis of Flood Flows report[8] to inform the review of catchment
flood models.
Community Resilience
25.4. Community
Resilience programmes focused on community resilience planning with
communities, and public information and education have been delivered across
the region, led primarily by local authorities. Community engagement
activities at the local level across all local authorities have been conducted
in consideration of ongoing recovery programmes and in collaboration with
Emergency Services.
25.5. Community
engagement activities across the region have included Community Hub and Civil Defence Centre
planning, hui with iwi, hapū and marae, and Community Resilience workshops.
Support to enable community-led strengthening of capability through Community
Hub planning and resourcing with critical supplies has been a priority for all
local authorities. This has seen planning for 60 community resilience
hubs underway across the region since the cyclone.
25.6. Post-Cyclone Gabrielle, the
Regional Community Resilience Working Group was established to provide a coordinated multi-agency approach to community
resilience. The Working Group has identified priority communities
impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle requiring immediate support to build their
resilience. To support these, and all communities in the development of
emergency preparedness plans, work is underway to develop a Community Resilience
Framework with practical tools. A Community Emergency Hub model has also
been adopted, using practised and tested resources from other regions.
25.7. There have been region-wide
public education campaigns promoting readiness and specific preparedness for
hazards (earthquake and tsunami). In addition to the region-wide campaigns,
local authorities have conducted further targeted campaigns, both externally
with communities and internally focussed for local authority staff. There
has also been behind-the-scenes work to improve current front-facing
communications for Hawke’s Bay CDEM with a review and refresh of the
Hawke’s Bay CDEM website and supporting information for the delivery of
emergency preparedness workshops as part of the Community Resilience programmed
activities.
Operational Readiness
25.8. Operational
readiness programmes cover the review of the operating framework and response
structure, emergency communications planning, shared emergency information
systems, welfare needs assessment platforms and operational workforce
capability.
25.9. Priority work on a
Capability Development Pathway has been completed, with preparations
under way for the roll-out the programme across three main pathways:
general Emergency Management awareness and support Emergency Operations/
Coordination Centres, support Civil Defence Centres, and Local and Group
Controllers. Aligned to these pathways is the identification and design of
specific training courses to support each pathway. Future course delivery
and attendance projections will provide a significant boost to the emergency
management capability at the local and Group
level. There will be a requirement for a significant commitment from
local authority staff and other agencies to attend training in addition to
their day-to-day roles. The development of the pathways, course design and
programme implementation have not stopped the continuation of training in the
interim at the local and Group level. In the last 10 months, over 230 people
across multiple agencies, including volunteers, have been trained based on
current courses and current training programmes.
25.10. The
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Welfare Needs Assessment System has been completed
with consultation on this system currently in progress through the member
agencies of the Welfare Coordination Group. The development of a new
regional information sharing platform is underway with the roll out scheduled
for mid-2024.
25.11. Post-Cyclone
Gabrielle agency reviews by Fire and Emergency New Zealand, New Zealand Police,
National Emergency Management Agency and St John’s Ambulance have been
completed or are under way. These will help inform the other
recommendations and learnings for the Hawke’s Bay region.
Recovery
25.12. Recovery programmes to build recovery
capacity for Hawke’s Bay and a review of the current Hawke’s Bay
Recovery Strategy is currently being scoped in consultation with the Regional
Recovery Authority (RRA).
Governance and Management
25.13. The high priority work on the review
of the Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Plan and partnering with Mana whenua in
Emergency Management are progressing.
Next steps
26. While the report has now
been formally received, preparatory work has already commenced to ensure that
the report’s recommendations and suggestions can be addressed quickly,
and to achieve the extent of transformation and innovation that the scope of
the review will require for its recommendations to be successfully considered
and implemented where possible.
27. Agencies, local authorities and organisations that form the
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group, have also not been waiting to take action following
Cyclone Gabrielle. Many key actions, some outlined in this report, speak
to the levels of focus and seriousness by all agencies.
28. A sub-working group of the
Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) has been formed and this will provide
recommendations on the short-term recommendations and actions to undertake to
the CEG initially, to then be presented to the Joint Committee along with what
an appropriate structure to successfully implement the review outcomes for the
future. Again, this will be critical to achieve the transformational step
change being sought, as opposed to incremental changes. The intention is
that this will be presented at the Joint Committee’s June meeting, if not
earlier.
29. It is also important to
note that this review is one of a number of reviews under way, including the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island
Severe Weather Events being led
by Sir Jerry Mateparae. Collating and understanding all of the recommendations
and connections across all of these reviews will be critical to ensuring the
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group is fit for future and not disconnected from
potential wider sector change or reform.
Considerations
of tangata whenua
30. Mana whenua engagement has
been an intrinsic component of the review processes outlined in development of
the review ToR and Framework and engagement associated with the review
methodology.
Financial
and resource implications
31. There will undoubtedly be
financial and resourcing implications from the review. The full scope and
extent of these is unknown at this point, however, will be reported to the
Joint Committee as part of the development of the implementation programme.
Decision-making process
32. Councils and their
committees are 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:
32.1. The decision does not
significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset, nor is
it inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.
32.2. The use of the special
consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation.
32.3. The persons affected by
this decision are the people of Hawke’s Bay.
32.4. Given the nature and
significance of the decision, and also the persons likely to be affected by, or
have an interest in the decisions made, the Joint Committee can exercise its
discretion and make a decision without consulting with the community.
Recommendations
That the Hawke’s Bay Civil
Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee:
1. Receives and considers the Independent
review into the HB CDEM Group response to Cyclone Gabrielle staff report.
2. Agrees that the decisions
to be made are not significant 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. Accepts the findings of the
Independent review into the HB CDEM Group response to Cyclone Gabrielle
in full.
4. Requests that the HB CDEM
Coordinating Executives Group reports back to the Joint Committee, with pace,
on the approach to how the review findings will be implemented, including an
implementation programme to achieve the step change sought.
Authored & Approved by:
|
Doug Tate
CHBDC Chief Executive
|
|
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