10th Annual Integrated Emergency Management Conference

Foreword

Due to the Earthquake in Christchurch we have decided to postpone Day 2 of this Conference until further notice.
 
Business Continuity on the 24th February has been postponed.
 
If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.


Endorsed by:


A message from John Hamilton, Director, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management:

The Canterbury earthquake of 04 September 2010 has left its mark on the landscape, in the community and in our psyche.  At first blush New Zealand can be proud of the way in which the communities of Canterbury dealt with the impact of the earthquake.  Our approach to civil defence emergency management has been truly tested under fire and the results indicate a high degree of resilience in Canterbury.  Not surprisingly this emergency will have generated different experiences, lessons and observations across the four Rs of risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery.

While there will be formal reviews undertaken of the response and recovery operations and reports published in due course, this conference provides us with an early opportunity to hear from those who played crucial roles in the emergency and to learn from those who have expertise and experience in disaster risk management in a wider sense.  This is an opportunity for us to learn, to check our own assumptions against some of the realities faced in an emergency and importantly, it is the chance to contribute to the further enhancement of our capability and capacity to cope with a major emergency.

As Director of Civil Defence I am pleased to have the co-operation and support of Conferenz and Bright*Star Conferences and Training to assemble the numerous pieces of the jigsaw necessary to bring this conference and its important discussion topics to you and the civil defence emergency management sector.  The conference is aimed at those who work in this specialised field.

I anticipate you will find ideas and concepts that you have overlooked in your routine work and I believe you will find material that should be applied in your area to ensure that it is as well prepared and as capable as Canterbury showed it was in early September.

There can be no greater responsibility or greater reward, than assisting others get through an emergency.  I recommend you use the conference as a way of refreshing and perhaps expanding your knowledge and abilities so that you are better able to meet your responsibilities to the community in civil defence emergency management.

John Hamilton, Director, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management

About

Ensuring good preparation, quick response and sustained recovery to disasters and emergencies

The 10th Annual Emergency Management Conference will focus on the Canterbury earthquake and look at many aspects of the disaster including:

  • The response – from both a national and local perspective
  • Communicating in a disaster
  • Developing successful emergency management teams
  • Multi-agency coordination and out of town staff integration
  • Early lessons identified from MCDEM

Conferenz is pleased to announce the participation and support of the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management at the 10th Annual Integrated Emergency Management Conference.

Do not miss out on this event with our special price for 2011: Register and pay before 5pm December 16 2010 and pay just $825 + GST for both days – see the registration tab for more details.

The conference program is constantly being updated – please check back for more confirmed speakers and new conference information!

Agenda

Agenda: Day 1

8.30

Registration and coffee

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Clive Manley, Manager Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Auckland Council

9.10

The Canterbury Earthquake - A reminder of the value of preparedness (Ministerial Address)

The Minister of Civil Defence, Hon John Carter will deliver a Ministerial Address and discuss the following in relation to the Canterbury earthquake.
• The foundations of resilience
• The Government’s role in the response and recovery
• Where to now?

Hon John Carter, Minister of Civil Defence

9.40

What happened in Canterbury? The science behind the reality

Early morning on Saturday 4th September 2010 there was a devastating earthquake that hit Canterbury; this session will delve into the science that underlies the earthquake and discuss the fault that led to the quake and why we did not know about it beforehand.
• The earth moves: what happened, why and where?
• Liquefaction and the behaviour of buildings and infrastructure

Kelvin Berryman, Manager: Natural Hazards Research Platform, GNS Science

10.30

Morning tea

10.50

International Address: Developing successful emergency management teams

• Simulations and reality
• Teams for innovation
• War gaming – exercises aimed to actually experience what and how decisions will be made during crises and the role that they can play in facilitating recovery and response
• Exercises - what are they really for?

David Parsons, Chair, Water Sector Infrastructure Assurance Advisory Group

Presentation still to come - please check back soon

11.40

Panel Discussion: Conveying information to the public during an emergency (Panel)

This panel discussion will look at different peoples’ experiences in the Canterbury earthquake, the impact that the quake had and how information was conveyed to the public. There will be a range of perspectives provided including those involved in the emergency response; the panel will be open for discussion and will welcome questions from the audience.

Chris Haines, Regional Operations Manager, St John
Area Commander Dan Coward, Area Manager, Christchurch Metro Area
Superintendent Dave Cliff, Canterbury District Commander, New Zealand Police
Dr Alistair Humphrey, Medical Officer of Health (Canterbury), Canterbury DHB
Don Rood, Head of News, Radio New Zealand

12.40

Lunch

1.30

The response – The national perspective

The National Controller will discuss the co-ordination of the national response to the Canterbury earthquake and look at lessons that could be applied to the management of major events in the future in other urban centres.

David Coetzee, National Controller, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management

2.20

Communicating in a Disaster: Rethinking the Unthinkable

Opening with widespread devastation in Haiti, 2010 was a year punctuated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, fires and floods. Successive disasters highlighted the need for effective communication that keeps the public aware of response and recovery efforts but, as each new event unfolded, public participation in the communications process grew, at times overshadowing ‘official channels’. This session will examine how those struck by a disaster may now react to messages, how ‘peripheral’ communicators influence that reaction, communication influences and technologies that can lead to conflict, response to messages under stress and why the communications process must start before disaster strikes.

Catherine Arrow, FCIPR, Director Unlocked PR; Board Member, Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management

3.00

Afternoon tea

3.15

Keynote Address: The response – A local perspective (Keynote)

This session will look at the response of the Canterbury region to the earthquake and how the people of Canterbury got through the shock of the earthquake and came out the other side.

Bob Parker, Christchurch City Mayor

4.05

Interactive roundtable discussions and simulations

Discuss key emergency management issues with other practitioners and learn from the experiences of your peers and our facilitators.

Roundtable 1: The constant challenge to attract and retain volunteers
Volunteers are essential for emergency and disaster response and they need to be well trained and available to act; how can we attract more volunteers to the area and maintain them in the long term? What was the experience in Canterbury, during and after the earthquake? How do volunteers play their part in coordinated relief?
Facilitated by: Murray Sinclair, Manager, Civil Defence &
Emergency Management, Christchurch City Council

Roundtable 2: The use of powers and the different roles undertaken in emergencies
In a declared emergency extensive legal powers are conferred on the Civil Defence Controllers and the Medical Officer of Health. These powers include closure of buildings, requisition of premises, cordons and quarantine; failure to comply can result in fines or imprisonment. The use of these powers has implications for other agencies and substantially affects the lives of those in a declared emergency beyond the immediate effects of the emergency itself. Both the Medical Officer of Health and Civil Defence Controllers invoked powers during the Canterbury Earthquake; this roundtable will look at the benefits and impacts of compulsory powers in an emergency and the wider implications of the use of these powers.
Facilitated by: Dr Alistair Humphrey, Medical Officer of Health (Canterbury), Canterbury DHB
Michael Aitken, General Manager Community Services, Christchurch City Council

Roundtable 3: Undertaking practical exercises to simulate disaster situations
The use of practical exercises to simulate disaster simulations can help prepare both those involved in emergency response and the public in better understanding what to do in an emergency. What benefits do practical exercises have over theory? Do we conduct too much theory and not enough practical simulations?
Facilitated by: Sharyn Devereux-Blum, Director, Devereux-Blum Training & Development Ltd

Roundtable 4: Ensuring effective coordination and communication in the face of disaster
During an emergency it is essential that what is happening is clearly communicated to people and the appropriate agencies coordinate their response. What were your experiences in the Canterbury earthquake or in other situations where coordination and clear communication were key?
Facilitated by: Paul Blum, Director, Devereux-Blum Training & Development Ltd

5.00

End of day one & networking drinks

Agenda: Day 2

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Clive Manley, Manager Civil Defence and Emergency
Management, Auckland Council

9.05

Case Study: Post emergency response to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake in Italy

The earthquake which devastated L’Aquila in Italy in 2009 has provided a number of lessons about earthquakes and brought forward some new ways of thinking.
• The rebuilding process – the benefits and disadvantages of prolonging the time spent in tents in order to quickly rebuild homes that are of high quality and are earthquake safe
• Coordination of different agencies and organisations in the post emergency response
• Emergency management of lifelines – lessons learnt which will help future recovery efforts
• Issues involved in waste and debris management after the disaster
• A comparison of the L’Aquila earthquake to the Canterbury earthquake

Sonia Giovinazzi, Research Fellow, University of Canterbury

9.50

Case Study: Multi-agency coordination and integrating out-of-town staff during the Canterbury earthquake (Case Study)

The Canterbury earthquake required a coordinated response as multiple agencies such as Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City, Selwyn District and Waimakariri councils, Fire, Police, NZDF, MSD and partner social service organisations had to work both individually and collectively to manage the response to the quake in a highly effective manner.
• Rapid activation of the Canterbury Regional Emergency Coordination Centre – how was this possible?
• What happens when principal hazard risks are not taken into account during planning?
• Lessons learnt from working with other agencies in a significant coordinated response
• The role of the National Crisis Management Centre and staff from across the country coming to assist
• The influence of ‘adaptive management’ – a potential disaster in the making?
• Moving from the initial response to the recovery phase - continued co-operation and co-ordination

Jon Mitchell, Manager, Regional Emergency Management Office

10.40

Morning tea

10.55

An overview of the Canterbury recovery process – What has been going on since September 2010?

This session will discuss the Canterbury recovery process and look at the work involved in assessing buildings evaluation systems, reconciling response as well as BAU expectations and requirements.
• The use of cordons and barricades in securing at risk areas
• The use of statutory powers and their application regarding dangerous buildings
• An overview of the basic lessons learnt so far

Esther Griffiths, Director, Sisirc Consulting

11.40

The best laid plans... Better than no plans

The Canterbury earthquake has seen the EQC being pushed to the limit as they process the thousands of claims from residents. This session will look at what plans EQC had in place before the earthquake and these plans were put into action once the event occured.

Doug Bent, Operations Manager, EQC

12.30

Lunch

1.15

What made Canterbury different from Chile? (Case Study)

Despite huge differences between the earthquakes in Chile and Canterbury there are surprising similar lessons that can be learnt from both events which are also reinforced by the differences between the two disasters.
• What levels of awareness and preparation were in place before each earthquake?
• From a structural engineering point of view, what lessons were learnt in Chile and how similar are these to those learnt in Canterbury despite the different scale of events?
• How were lifelines affected and how did the utilities respond in Chile compared with Canterbury?

Noel Evans MIPENZ, Chartered Professional Engineer, MNZSEE; Relationship Manager, Opus International Consultants Ltd

1.40

The role of social media in the Canterbury cleanup

Canterbury University student Sam Johnson mobilised thousands of students in Canterbury to help out in the clean up after the earthquake through the use of Facebook. Students travelled to stricken areas, helping shovel silt out of people’s properties, move furniture from damaged houses and help residents clean up. This session will look at how the volunteer movement was started, how Facebook was used as a means to get people involved, the work that the students undertook and look at how important volunteering is in times of need.

Sam Johnson, Student, University of Canterbury; Member, Riccarton-Wigram Community Board

2.05

Integrated land use planning

The Canterbury earthquake highlighted the issue of integrated land use planning councils and local authorities must take into account the geotechnical aspects of land that is to be developed and the risks involved. The issue is a persistent one as we continue to develop areas that represent risk in being prone to earthquakes, floods, tsunami and liquefaction.

Kristin Hoskin, Director, Kestrel Group; President – Oceania, International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

2.30

Afternoon tea

2.45

Pre-emergency planning and preparedness – The role data plays in post disaster recovery

The Canterbury earthquake highlighted the need for response organisations to have clear plans in place for effective emergency management. This session will look at how response organisations can ensure maximum readiness and how immediate access to the right tools and data post event allows for proactive rather than reactive response.
• Pre-arranged programmes and Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) with geospatial data and solutions providers that are triggered in the event of an emergency
• Coordinated national service and supply contracts
• International case study to be showcased

Mike Donald, Managing Director, Terralink International

3.10

The importance of business continuity planning at IRD (Case Study)

The importance of business continuity planning cannot be underestimated; this session will look at business continuity planning at IRD and the important role it played in ensuring the organisation was able to get back to business as usual quickly after the Canterbury earthquake.

Glen Redstall, Portfolio Manager BCEM, IRD

3.35

Closing Keynote Address: Early Lessons Identified from the Canterbury Earthquake (Keynote)

John Hamilton will discuss the early lessons that can be identified from the Canterbury experience and the impact that this will have on emergency management as we move forward into the future.

John Hamilton, Director, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management

4.20

Closing remarks from the Chair and end of Conference

Sponsors/Partners

Interested in sponsorship?

There are some exclusive opportunities to promote your company, and its products and services, at this leading event. Contact the sponsorship team below to request a prospectus or discuss the options, or view more about event sponsorship.