The Four R’s in emergency
October 2025 will remain in our minds for a little while yet as we recover from the horrendous winds.
One positive attribute that contributed was the accuracy of the weather forecasting along with an early declaration of a state of emergency, which is not done without due consideration under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act (CDEM).
During the event a visit from the Minister of Emergency Management Mark Mitchell was welcomed and well received by some who were effected from the wind event, he dropped into the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and speak with elected members, interesting that he informed us that in his 24 months as Minister he has been involved with 19 states of emergency across the New Zealand.
And for that reason, I wanted to share with you the importance of the four R’s, Reduction, Readiness, Response and Recovery.
Reduction: Councils have special legislative responsibilities to manage hazards and risks to plan for an emergency and also play a critical role to support funding programmes of work that mitigate the impacts of natural hazards and where possible councils should be supporting decisions to reduce the impacts given that every $1 spent of reduction saves between $4-$13 in response and recovery.
Readiness: This translates to councils funding programmes of work that mitigate the impacts of natural hazards, supporting decisions that reduce exposure to risk through district plans, coastal adaption plans and growth strategies that support initiatives to increase resilience.
Response: This refers to the actions taken immediately before, during and after an emergency to save lives, protect property and to help communities and it is here that you could offer skills and expertise at local welfare posts. Across our district we have some strong volunteer groups who met and train weekly and some that need revitalising so if you would like to know more our Hurunui Emergency Management Officer Allan Grigg would welcome your call to ascertain how you may contribute to the vital work.
Recovery:The recovery phase will vary in time depending on the situation or location, but a co-ordinated effort and process should be in place to bring about the immediate medium- or long-term regeneration of a community following a civil defence emergency.
At Hurunui District Council we have set up a Mayoral Relief Fund and have received $25k from central government to support the wellbeing and welfare of the communities most effected along with $25k from Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) both these funds will be administered through an application which can be accessed by emailing Jo.Retallick@hurunui.govt.nz
Given the scale and nature of events that we have recently experienced I urge you to consider your home and family “readiness” and allocate some time to store items “just in case” and do your part to continue to build a strong resilient community together.
Emergency management will : Act Locally, Co-ordinate Regionally, and be Supported Nationally.
