? Lighting up the night with Carol services
Councils? CD safety net expanding
For the past six months ReadyNet has been vigorously pushed as an online emergency management tool by Wellington?s councils. Porirua City Council emergency office manager Kerry McFaveney says 30 schools and community groups in the region are linked-up online, and the council wants more community groups and private businesses to join ReadyNet. ?There is much more community engagement now, because people have been given a link directly to what is happening. ?There was a surge in joining after the tsunami warnings,? says Mrs McFaveney. Along with stronger communication links, the council is also building up resilience on the ground. To combat the city?s susceptibility to being cut off by disaster and storms, like it was in July this year, the council is installing 25,000 litre water tanks at Civil Defence Centres throughout the city. Discovery School, Ngatitoa Domain and Pukerua Bay School currently house tanks, and 25 more are ready for instillation. ?We have to increase our levels of self-sustainability ... there is not much you can do if the roads are cut off. ?Supermarkets have this just-in-time supply that means their stock don?t last that long,? she says. The council plans to have one million litres of emergency water available. Another way to address the isolation issue is by bringing supplies into the city harbour by boat. Hutt City Council emergency management advisor Kathryn Nankinell says leaving groups signed up with ReadyNet to their own devices is not the aim of the plan, and councils must utilise it as a tool within their emergency planning. 320 groups are actively registered with Hutt City?s Readynet service. ?It makes the message more consistent for people in the region. ?You have to communicate with them about the plan, but they have to own it and do it themselves,? says Mrs Nankinell. Six months ago the HCC targeted vulnerable groups, such as schools, retirement homes, and child care centres, to lock them into the system first. After actively seeking out these groups they are now turning their attention to businesses and other private groups. ?ReadyNet sends updates every six months for groups to update, but the communication and promotion actually comes from us. ?You have to push the interaction; we need close relations with groups to connect with the community?. She says during drills people are good at gathering outside, but following that a safe point had not been allocated, such as a place for parents to meet up with their children. ?It emerged fairly early on that evacuation plans needs to be better thought out, they are lacking that next vital step of moving people into a safe area after the evacuation. ?The people that are involved really love it, they think it?s great,? she says.
