An analysis of Southland’s most recent emergencies has identified a range of issues with how they were managed.
On Friday, a review of Emergency Management Southland’s response to Gore flooding in September 2023 and Bluecliffs erosion in February 2024 was discussed by key stakeholders.
While no lives were lost in either event, both resulted in evacuations, and Bluecliffs residents were outspoken at the time about how the situation was handled.
The review gave a tough assessment of communication, staffing levels and a lack of process when it came to declaring emergencies.
It said that at the time of the Gore event, the team was shorthanded with unfilled roles and a key member on leave.
That issue carried over into Bluecliffs, where the team was still “greatly diminished”.
“This undoubtedly impacted the effectiveness of the responses and led to knowledge and process gaps within key functions,” the report said.
In regard to the actual declaration of emergency, feedback was given about a lack of clear process for making that decision, and who needed to be involved.
Communication was also an area of concern, with many interviewees noting there was no “common operating picture” across agencies.
Emergency Management Southland is made up of the four Southland councils — Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council and Environment Southland.
Gore mayor Ben Bell took exception to parts of the report, saying it showed his council declared an emergency too early, when he felt the actual issue was that the Civil Defence Emergency Management group wasn’t ready for them.
He also noted the previous emergency management group controller was not involved in the review.
Southland mayor Rob Scott had been partly critical of how Bluecliffs was handled, but was pleased with the direction emergency management was taking.
“It’s making really good progress towards being exactly where it needs to be,” he said.
The report showed current emergency management controllers had noted the position needed to be given more importance within organisations, instead of being an extra responsibility on top of current roles.
Recommendations included reviewing staffing, more training, and developing a consistent procedure for declaring an emergency.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
