Saturday, March 30, 2024

Past lessons drive future response

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Learning from past emergencies is the essence of a revamped major rural events programme being established by Federated Farmers. The use of geographic information systems (GIS) and associated technology together with improved forward planning are the hallmarks for improvements to Feds’ emergency and disaster preparedness and response, adverse events spokesman Andrew Hoggard said.
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Federated Farmers has a long and proud history of involvement in adverse events response and recovery, including with earthquakes, snow, fire and floods.

But while its expertise and communication networks have certainly been recognised in the wake of the Kaikoura-Hurunui earthquakes, especially in communicating with isolated rural properties initially overlooked by the authorities, there is still plenty of room for improvement, Hoggard said.

“Floods, snow and now earthquakes and so on will happen time and again with slight differences and a truckload of challenges each time.

“It’s about leaning from the past – no one should have to reinvent the wheel,” he said.

“We want to make sure every province has the skills, the tools and the support in the field to go forward and make a damn good job of responding.

“The essence of the programme is making sure farmers learn from past lessons.”

The new, ready-to-respond, smart technology tool kit will sharpen adverse events readiness.

The programme is not a farmer-facing tool kit but more specifically intended for provincial presidents and executives.

“It’s about making sure our response is more efficient and more effective.

“That’s not saying it’s Feds job but in every event we end up in that space and we want to ensure the part we play is as efficient and effective as it can be.

“Procedures need to be able to swing into action no matter if a president or other executive members are away or unavailable or their properties are disaster ground zero.”

The ready-to-respond improvements are about streamlining the responses and putting technology to work.

Feds doesn’t want to take over from Civil Defence or Rural Support Trusts.

“It’s about being geared up to work with these other organisations. We certainly aren’t going in competition.

“We are upping our game as the go-to guys with the knowledge of farming and rural districts to get things done when the proverbial hits the fan.”

GIS would enable a variety of data to be displayed and regularly updated on digital maps.

With detailed information being logged in and plotted on a map, things such as what access roads were cut off, what the needs of farmers were andf what livestock needed to be evacuated could be more efficiently responded to.

While GIS had the potential to be a powerful response tool it would be only as good as useful data was collected, logged and prepared before an emergency situation arose. 

“The ultimate, in my pie-in-the-sky thinking would be to get to a situation where everyone downloaded an app on their phone and in the case of an adverse event – self-respond.

“That’s more wishful thinking stuff as technology and funding allows in the future.”

Several industry stakeholders including FMG and Farmlands support the Feds’ programme’s improvements. 

“Ultimately, we want our major rural events programme and response to be of such high quality that it gains outside long-term funding.” 

Meantime, Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi has released a report into how New Zealand responds to natural disasters and emergencies 

The ,inisterial review, Better Responses to Natural Disasters and other Emergencies in NZ, was started by the previous government.

A technical advisory group (TAG) was formed after the 2016 Kaikoura-Hurunui earthquake and Port Hills fire emergency of 2017 to advise on the most appropriate operational and legislative mechanisms to support effective responses to natural disasters and other emergencies.

Faafoi said the report made a number of recommendations and they would be carefully considered as he meets local authorities, iwi and other groups over the next few months. 

“Further work, specifically around prioritisation, budget and legislative implications, is required in order to decide on and progress recommendations.

“I’ve already started some discussions and that will step up as people have a chance to look at the report and consider what it has found,” Faafoi said.  

“The current system stands up well when we need it and has done so throughout the pressures, issues and challenges in recent years but it is clear more must be done, particularly given the increasing events we have experienced.”

The overall direction of the report is for a more professional emergency response system that involves stronger implementation of the existing legislative framework together with strong national leadership and local collaboration.

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