Auckland Council has announced it will carry out an independent review of the response from the city’s emergency management agencies, following the April storm that hit the region.
The council said the review will identify successes and areas for improvement, as well as any steps that could be taken to mitigate future risks.
“This storm is yet another reminder that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and can have devastating impacts,” Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said. “Each time Auckland responds, we must take the opportunity to review our performance and look for ways to improve.
“We have also made a long term commitment in our budget planning to improve the resilience of our region’s infrastructure and ensure our service delivery operations are up to scratch,” he added.
Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee chair Sharon Stewart, meanwhile, added: “As emergency-focussed agencies we plan and prepare for situations like this but there is nothing like a major response to test your systems and look for ways to make them stronger. We look forward to working together with our colleagues across the group to review how we performed in April.”
The review was scoped by the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) and endorsed by the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Committee.
The final report will cover both learnings and recommendations – this includes coverage of issues which are systemic in nature and can be applied to future events. This will be considered by the Auckland CDEM CEG at its meeting on November 05.
