A post-Covid resurgence of interest from community volunteers looking to protect their communities is driving new projections that forecast Hurunui’s emergency readiness ahead of the curve by the end of the year.

Hurunui District Council Emergency Management Officer Allan Grigg recently presented to Council the first biannual report for 2023 on Civil Defence Emergency Management activity across the district.

Grigg said Covid “and the way people had locked down and focused on family and things close to them”, had impacted the readiness of the district’s communities to respond to an emergency event over the last few “challenging” years.

Changes in emergency management officers, disaster fatigue, modern-day challenges in attracting and retaining volunteers, Council staff turnover and general CDEM resourcing were other factors that had impacted Hurunui’s readiness to respond to an emergency event.

Grigg said a new energy was now being felt.

“There is a real energy and momentum building across the district. People are getting more involved, primarily in the training and readiness space. The inhibitions resulting from the Covid pandemic are receding.”

Grigg said the high profile of Cyclone Gabrielle had also had an effect, increasing interest in personal and household preparedness and planning.

If the current trajectory was maintained, Hurunui’s readiness to respond to an emergency was subjectively forecast to be at the 85% mark by the end of the year against the current subjectively estimated 60 percent, Grigg said.

Hurunui District is divided into nine Civil Defence Sectors with its own Civil Defence Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The year was already proving busy and profitable in the Civil Defence space, Grigg said. Last month, after a series of CDEM training sessions, the Waipara CERT successfully obtained funding from the Kate Valley Trust to purchase emergency equipment it decided it needed over and above the resources provided by Hurunui CDEM.

A wildfire evacuation plan, developed in collaboration with Mt Lyford residents, Fire and Emergency and Hurunui Civil Defence Emergency Management, was presented to the Mt Lyford community over the King’s Birthday weekend; and a Youth in Emergency Services week-long camp is being held in Hanmer Springs in July. These were just a few of the Civil Defence activities happening across Hurunui, Grigg said.

"The more communities invest in their Civil Defence preparedness, the better their response will be when disaster strikes," Grigg said.

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