Community resilience

The following presentation was made at the Rodney Neighbourhood Support AGM.

Neighbourhood Support fosters relationships between Civil Defence or Emergency Management agencies. This provides the opportunity for information to flow more quickly during an emergency or disaster. This also encourages ongoing collaboration throughout the year in the preparedness and prevention space.

Mahurangi East Community Response Group

Presentation by Chip Babbott and Troje Botica at the AGM held on 5th August 2021. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak at your recent AGM about community resilience groups. Troy and I are part of a local community resilience group in Snells Beach. Auckland Emergency Management (formerly Auckland Civil Defence) works with local communities to form and support local Community Resilience Groups (CRGs). The group’s roles include the following: • Outreach promoting awareness and education about disaster preparedness as a family, Community and region • Maintaining lines of communication between our community and Auckland

Emergency Management during a crisis • Supporting communities by opening and staffing community evacuation/welfare centres if required • And providing support for local Police,

FENZ and St Johns ambulance services so they can do their jobs more effectively. Like Neighbourhood Support, CRGs are intended to be community builders bringing neighbours together to support themselves and one-another in a time of crisis.

The messages CRGs want to get out to our community are as follows:

1. Typical emergency services are sized to deal with the day-to-day issues but in the event of a region wide disaster they will be overwhelmed and probably unavailable.

We’ve got local fire personnel, but police, ambulance, electricity, water, roading resources... they are not local and probably will not be available during a crisis. In a disaster we will probably be on our own for an unknown period of time. We as individuals and a community need to be prepared to help each other.

2. Personal and family preparedness.

It is important to think through some scenarios with your family and then make a plan.

• What would you do in an earthquake or if a tsunami is predicted? • Without electricity what would you do about fresh water, food, or critical medications? • What about cooking and heating?

Quality Equipment Expert Drillers Clients First & Foremost

We pride ourselves on being able to offer professional drilling backed up with inhouse geologists and hydrogeologists. This enables us to explain the sub-surface conditions to our clients in an objective manner and what type of drilling or bore design would be most appropriate for their conditions. We can demystify the murkiness of the subsurface, greatly improving our client’s confidence in their important investment decisions.

Jon Williamson: 021 654422 • jon.williamson@wwla.kiwi

• It is better to plan and prepare yourselves to be in a better position to help your neighbour, instead of needing to be helped yourself.

3. What resources does your community have that could be useful in an emergency? Do you have a local hall that could be used to house people?

Do you have neighbours with off-grid power or generators that could provide power for radio communications? Do you have local shops, restaurants and chemists that you could work with in an emergency?

4. What skills and resources could you provide your neighbours in a crisis?

Not only obvious skills like first aid but maybe a 4-wheel drive with a chain to pull a tree off a road, or a boat in the driveway that could help rescue people in a flood. We as a community are counting on neighbours to step up and spontaneously respond in a crisis. It could be as simple and important as showing up at your local hall to lend a kind word and make a hot drink for those who may be displaced or can’t get home.

5. And lastly, think about being part of a local community response group.

We need people who are aware of the local resources we do have.

A big part of preparedness is putting some thought into planning and response prior to an emergency. We’d love more members in our community response groups and we also want the wider community to know we’re here and for people think about how they might be able to help on behalf of the community should there be a need.

Is a disaster likely? No. By definition - they are low probability events. Certainly, a worldwide pandemic was low on our threat list a few years ago, and television footage of the Buller floods has been a reminder that one in 500 year events do occur.

But a little preparedness and a little thought goes a long way. That’s the goal of our local response group and we’d love to have your help and support.

To find out more about community resilience groups in your area or how to form your own group, contact:

Troy Botica

0210-843-3991 J.Sandos142@gmail.com

Chip Babbott

021-447-015 mr2babbotts@gmail.com

Auckland Emergency Management: aeminfo@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

Plant swap at Snells Beach

A plant swap at Snells Beach was held in conjunction with the Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2021.

Lesley took on the role of managing the stand where there were two tables featuring many types of plants for plant swappers. The event raised interest from attendees and many plants were donated to the swap and then given away. Such was the display of interest that we should repeat this event in the future; perhaps we could start potting up any spare cuttings or plants. Colourful succulents were popular and in-season vegetable seedlings as well. This could become a regular activity along with other activities to celebrate Neighbours Day.

Coastal Management and Engineering

Specialist Coastal Engineering, Structural Engineering and Planning solutions.

4 Seawalls 4 Jetties 4 Coastal Hazards 4 Coastal Resource Consents

Grant Castle

106 Main Road, Kumeu