Civil defence exercise prepares for the worst

Flooded roads, missing people, rising rivers and communities isolated are some of the predicted scenarios if a Cyclone Gabrielle type weather event hit the wider Manawatū-whanganui region.

Horizons Regional Council hosted an exercise at its civil defence centre in Palmerston North yesterday, with staff from various agencies preparing as if the region had to deal with a large-scale event similar to Cyclone Gabrielle, which battered parts of New Zealand in February.

The civil defence centre was humming with about 90 people from various councils and agencies, including the police, the Defence Force, iwi representatives, council staff, lifeline services such as power and telecommunications, and the National Emergency Management Agency.

In the practice scenario there was widespread flooding from rivers and surface flooding, coastal inundation, wind damage, land instability and affected infrastructure.

At one briefing, Manawatū-whanganui emergency management group controller Craig Grant ran through all the organisations and what information they had to offer, with everyone treating the exercise as if it were real. “This event is a scenario we haven’t seen for quite some time,” he said.

There was serious fallout from the weather. In the scenario one person was dead with more deaths anticipated and others missing, towns were flooded and cut off across the region, dams were overtopping, people were stuck on Mount Ruapehu due to high winds, power was at risk and State Highway 1 in Horowhenua was cut off by flooding.

Seven flood-action plans were in place. Emergency management adviser Chay Hook said: “What we didn’t want to create was a test exercise. We want people to come and immerse themselves in action and walk away with a learning experience, but also to do some networking.”

While it was a large-scale weather event scenario, it was something that was entirely possible.

Hook would throw in curveballs for the people to deal with such as a food shortage or a road washed out. “Probably down the line we’ll lose vital transport links, ... and we do the so whats. If there’s a food shortage in Taihape what’s the so what of that. If people get agitated the police might have to be involved.”

A communication blackout was a big one, something that happened in Hawke’s Bay during Gabrielle, and Hook wanted the teams to be able to deal with one and ensure they could still get information and key messages in and out. They had radios and a Starlink internet connection.

Horizons chairwoman Rachel Keedwell said the exercise was good to identify what needed to be done in this type of situation and fill any gaps in their response.

Horizons chief executive Michael Mccartney said the council’s modelling of what Cyclone Gabrielle would have done if it had hit Manawatū-whanganui hadn’t looked good.the modelling helped them prepare if a big weather event was coming.

In 2017, a stopbank collapsed in Edgecumbe in Bay of Plenty and the town was inundated by the Rangitāiki River.

Mccartney said if that happened in somewhere like Palmerston North there could be widespread flooding, so they had to be ready. “Plan for the worst and be ready.”