Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 27, 2023
Hamilton City Council staff continue to support the wider national response to the tragic weather events of recent weeks.
The Council’s Response Manager, Kelvin Powell said that the City was fortunate to escape the worst effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and is making staff available to assist with requests for support from other areas.
“Members of our building team were already helping with rapid inspections following Auckland’s flooding, even before Cyclone Gabrielle hit. We have provided staff to local and regional Civil Defence centres during and after the cyclone and we are now assisting with requests for support from further afield,” he said.
“These are tough times for many families across Aotearoa. I am proud our City is able to provide tangible support and help, in some way, as the many people involved in this emergency deal with immediate issues and plan for recovery,” he added.
Nationwide Mobilisation
Mr Powell told Indian Newslink that massive, nationwide support has been mobilised for individuals, families, and businesses across.
“As these storm events developed, the initial response in many areas was managed at a local level, then via a local State of Emergency, a regional State of Emergency and finally, on 14 February, a national State of Emergency. This has meant coordination of volunteer staff to assist flood-stricken regions has been managed by NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency),” Mr Powell said.
The Council has so far deployed 30 staff in a range of roles supporting Auckland, Thames and the Waikato Region to respond to people’s needs.
Following requests from the National Emergency Management Agency, further staff with identified skillsets have been nominated to deploy to Hawke’s Bay and Auckland to provide future support.
Mr Powell said, “The Council staff play a dual role in emergency response situations. They have their own jobs to do for their communities, but many are also trained to staff their local Civil Defence centres if a State of Emergency is declared. These trained staff are also available, as volunteers in areas which may have greater needs.”
“The last few weeks have seen Hamilton’s staff involved in a variety of roles. The storms and flooding in Auckland (before the cyclone) meant other councils sent Building Control staff to assist Auckland. At the same time, we had staff supporting the Group Civil Defence Centre, both for Cyclone Gabrielle and the storms before it.”
Support in Hawke’s Bay
“Hamilton was fortunate to escape the worst impacts of the cyclone. Preparing for the likely impacts, and cleaning up afterwards, involved teams from across Council – staff from waters, transport, parks, communication, community development, City Safe and many others.”
He said that during and after the cyclone, Hamilton City Council had 19 staff involved with Group Civil Defence roles in the Waikato and 13 deployed in the Thames.
“We are working with NEMA on additional support in Auckland and Hawke’s Bay. They currently have around 60 staff trained and able to be deployed if requested. This is only a small part of the national response – many other councils are providing staff and resources, as are multiple emergency services, government and non-government response agencies, roading crews, power and internet companies, armed forces, contractors, businesses, and individuals across the country. Our hearts go out to all those impacted, and to the many, many thousands of people across the country who are doing long hours in tough conditions to move these regions closer to recovery,” Mr Powell said.
Support to Auckland
Hamilton has also pledged support to Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) in its efforts to recover and rebuild, following flooding and damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in mid-February.
The Auckland Council has established an ‘Adopt a Community’ campaign to support 11 Councils that declared a state of emergency during Cyclone Gabrielle.
The campaign will see Councils in disaster-stricken regions matched up with one or more supporting Councils, to raise money to help fund their local clean-up and recovery efforts.
As a part of this initiative, Hamilton has been paired with Auckland to provide additional support by raising funds to assist with their recovery efforts.
Mayor Paula Southgate was quick to support the Adopt a Community campaign and said, “Hamilton City Council has registered its interest to be a supporting council, and we have been allocated to assist our whanau up in Auckland. We want to show as much support as possible to our northern neighbours as they recover from not just Cyclone Gabrielle, but multiple disasters which have already severely and tragically impacted them this year.”
“We have provided staff and other support already over the last few weeks, but we want to go further – and help provide as much financial support as we can – as this is what is needed now in their long road to recovery,” she added.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown also praised the initiative, thanking Mayor Southgate and Hamiltonians for the pledge of support.
He said, “While the weather has settled, we cannot forget those communities in Auckland’s Rodney District and the West Coast that remain isolated. Hundreds of homes and businesses are still without power, and more than 215 properties have been red-stickered to date. On behalf of Aucklanders impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, your support and generosity are greatly appreciated.”
Hamilton City Council is rolling out a campaign – including social media, donated billboard space, media releases, and more, to promote the fundraising efforts.
Mayor Southgate urged Hamiltonians to be generous to fellow citizens and said, “Times are tough for all of us, but if you are in a position to donate, I would encourage you to consider it, as every dollar counts.”
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
