Whakatāne District Recovery Debrief and Toolbox

The Whakatāne District Recovery Debrief and Toolbox is a snapshot of activities undertaken and is designed to provide the local and wider New Zealand community with insights and "tools" that may help during future recovery efforts.

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Background

On 6 April 2017, the Whakatāne District experienced widespread damage to homes, propertv, businesses, farms, the natural environment and infrastructure as a result of the events generated by ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie and ex-Tropical Cyclone Cook. During this event, 1,600 people were evacuated from Edgecumbe town and the surrounding area after the Rangitāiki River stopbank breached on College Road, causing extensive flooding. A number of residents in Poroporo, Rūātoki, Thornton and Tāneatua also had to leave their homes, and some rural communities were isolated for more than a week.

A local state of emergency for the Whakatāne District was declared on 6 April 2017 in response to ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie. For our District, this was a large-scale event.

One year on, although the Recovery efforts continue, it is important to capture and review the actions undertaken for recovery, whilst the key agencies and personnel are readily accessible and knowledge remains fresh.

Recovery partners and agencies

The Whakatāne District Council acknowledges the multiple partners and associated agencies within the Recovery Office that have contributed to the Recovery and provided substantive feedback to this resource.

The outcome document provides a balance of all the viewpoints and learnings presented through the debrief process, whilst endeavouring to provide a readily available, encompassing and holistic resource from the Whakatāne District Council Recovery perspective.

Details on the Debrief and Toolbox

We anticipatethat by sharing our Whakatāne recovery story (the good, the bad and the ugly) the range of learning experiences, the pathways taken and the tools used to realise our recovery objectives will benefit others in years to come. Information in this document does not necessarily represent best practice, or a "how to" guide to complex, multiple-agency recovery actions, but it does provide a starting point for others to use and improve on.

As well as capturing our "recovery story", a compendium of resources (toolbox) that can be re-used by the Whakatāne District Council, or any other Council or agency in the event of a future flood or natural disaster, is available as part of the resource.

The document is organised into three main parts:

Part A - Deconstructing recovery activities - A description of each recovery activity and its successes and challenges/lesson learned forms the basis of Part A.
Part B - An overview of key themes and insights - Analysis of responses highlighted some key themes and insights into the recovery process. Part B explores these key themes, and provides insights that may inform planning for future recovery processes.
Part C - Toolbox of templates, processes and procedures - A collection of resources to use, adapt and improve. The toolbox is a compilation of templates, resources, plans, processes and flow charts used across all recovery activities.