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Failures in Auckland Council’s response to flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 have prompted investment in software to improve the organisation’s crisis awareness.
Two independent reviews commissioned by the council and a further performance audit identified the need for a significant programme of improvements to the city’s emergency preparedness.
The reviews found that Auckland Emergency Management staff lacked the tools to rapidly pull together and analyse information from multiple sources. As a result, the council was slow to realise the scale and severity of the flooding, which impeded its decision-making and communications.
They found Auckland Emergency Management staff lacked the tools to rapidly pull together and analyse information from multiple sources. As a result, the council was slow to realise the scale and severity of the flooding, which impeded its decision-making and communications.
The Auditor-General reported last month the council had since invested in software to improve situational awareness and information-sharing during such emergencies.
Auckland Emergency Management had acquired D4H, a specialised emergency management software system from Ireland designed to rapidly collate a wide range of information sources.
D4H is already being used by many civil defence and emergency management groups across New Zealand.
Auckland Emergency Management has also acquired California-based ArcGIS; online geographical information software to improve its ability to map emergency events as they unfold.
Also acquired was ArcGIS’ Survey123 platform, which allows external organisations to input and access needs assessment data to ensure welfare responses during an emergency are based on up-to-date and accurate information.
“Auckland Emergency Management told us that D4H, ArcGIS Online, and Survey123 are now available for use in an emergency response,” the Auditor-General reported.
“Once Auckland Council has finalised privacy protocols for these systems, Auckland Emergency Management will also have access to them for non-emergency activities such as readiness and risk reduction.”
New Zealand’s telecommunications providers and wireless ISPs providers leapt into action during and after Cyclone Gabrielle, activating their emergency response forum and restoring services quickly despite a host of access challenges