A public meeting will be held in Roxburgh next week to discuss natural hazards in the area and to gauge interest in establishing a community response group.
The meeting is to be jointly hosted by the Otago Regional Council (ORC) Natural Hazards Team and Otago Emergency Management, and will be split into two parts:
Part 1: Otago Regional Council Natural Hazards Teams – Roxburgh Debris Flows
A localised thunderstorm on 26 November 2017 produced severe flooding and sediment movement, also known as debris flows, in the hills behind Roxburgh. This resulted in significant sediment deposition across State Highway 8 and within Roxburgh township, with the road closing in four places, and remaining impassable for several days. In light of such events, the ORC team will present an overview of the natural hazards in the Roxburgh area, with a particular focus on the debris flow hazard. In addition, the presentation will outline the project’s next steps, with the opportunity for people to ask questions.
Part 2: Otago Emergency Management – Roxburgh Community Response Group
The focus of this section of the meeting was preparedness and whether the community could function for seven, eight, or more days while waiting for critical infrastructure to be repaired, Central Otago Emergency Management Advisor Derek Shaw said.
“If we can’t stay in our homes, where do we go? What support can we expect from local or central government or are we on our own? If we’re cut off from the rest of the district, how would we cope?
“These are the questions we have to ask ourselves, especially with recent examples such as the 2023 Auckland floods and the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on the North Island’s East Coast. Many of these questions can be answered at the public meeting, where interest in establishing a Roxburgh Civil Defence Community Response Group will also be gauged.”
Community Response Group (CRG)
CRGs are made up of volunteers who are organised and trained to be prepared to activate in the event that they need to support their communities, and, in a worst-case scenario to fill a void created by a catastrophic, isolating, event. A CRG will, with the assistance of Emergency Management Otago, prepare a Community Resilience Guide specific to the Roxburgh area. The group will support their community before, during, and after an emergency and help communities become more prepared and resilient. While the CRG will work closely with Emergency Management Otago, it has the ability to work autonomously in a crisis by using pre-planning to establish a safe Community Emergency Hub and operate it under a meaningful structure.
Welfare of other community members is the focus of the group. CRG’s are not expected to do operational tasks such as Urban Search and Rescue but will be asked to gather information so that situational awareness of the event can be relayed via phone, VHF radio, or Starlink to an Emergency Operations Centre.
Communities throughout New Zealand, including many in Central Otago/Queenstown Lakes, have operating CRGs. If you are willing to volunteer to help form a local Roxburgh Community Response Group please come to this meeting to ask questions, discuss ideas, and be ready to activate when you may least expect it!
Meeting: Roxburgh Memorial Hall, CODC Service Centre, Scotland Street, Roxburgh from 6.30pm on Wednesday 3 July 2024.
