⭐ Background to the project
Individuals, families, streets and communities suffered in many different ways during and after Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Floods of 2023.
While many may feel recovered on a day-to-day basis, when we look a little harder, we may realise the adjustments we have had to make to get on with life with an unresolved slip on our property or street, our local bush walking track having been closed these two years, or friends having had to move out of the area. When there is a storm forecast or heavy rain, we may feel a rush of emotions, and our overall sense of safety in our home may be compromised.
Local recovery planning is about communities working together to identify their recovery needs and make plans to actively address these needs at the street, neighbourhood or community level.
In this survey, we ask you to think about the past, present and especially the future - what can you do to move towards the future you want for yourself, your whānau, your neighbourhood and your community?
⭐ Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between recovery, resilience and emergency preparedness?
Response: Response refers to the decisions and actions taken to deal with the immediate effects of a disaster. These actions and decisions will be to protect life, reduce suffering, contain and mitigate the impacts of the emergency, protect property, and create the conditions for communities to recover.
Preparedness: Emergency preparedness refers to actions and measures introduced before the onset of an emergency to 1) improve the effectiveness of disaster response, and 2) to mitigate disaster impacts on people and communities. It is about the measures taken to prepare for a disaster in order to reduce the impacts on people and property and to enable individuals and communities to recover quickly.
Preparedness includes activities such as contingency planning, the stockpiling of equipment and supplies, setting up and strengthening early warning systems, strengthening communication systems and processes, and the development of arrangements for coordination, evacuation and public information.
Readiness: Readiness is related to preparedness and is often used interchangeably. The term “readiness” describes the ability to quickly and appropriately respond to an emergency when required. At a household level this could look like having a detailed understanding of local hazards and risks, having an emergency grab-bag prepared, an agreed meeting place with family members. At the wider community level, this is about ensuring systems, stakeholders, and processes are ready and prepared to quickly and efficiently respond to an emergency when it arises.
Recovery: Recovery refers to the coordinated efforts of supporting affected communities in the reconstruction of the built environment and the restoration of emotional, social, economic, built and natural environment wellbeing following an emergency.
Recovery may take months or even years to complete, as it seeks to support affected communities to rebuild their lives. At its centre, recovery is the complex process of individuals and communities who have been impacted by a disaster event working to resolve the impacts that the event has had on the trajectory of their lives. Recovery provides an opportunity to improve aspects beyond previous conditions by enhancing social infrastructure, natural and built environments, and economies.
Recovery is intertwined with disaster risk reduction and readiness and can provide an opportunity to enhance resilience and improve upon pre-disaster inequities.
Rather than working to return to pre-disaster ‘normal’, recovery is about how complex community systems repair or develop social, political, and economic processes, institutions, and relationships that enable it to function in the new context within which it finds itself. Successful recovery will do this in a way that reduces future disaster risk, and as such, must consider vulnerabilities and inequities within the community that exacerbate disaster impacts and risk.
Community-led recovery: Evidence from across Aotearoa and internationally shows that successful recovery for communities is best achieved when the affected communities are empowered and supported to exercise a high degree of involvement in setting priorities and a vision for recovery and leading community-led initiatives.
Resilience: Resilience refers to the ability to anticipate and resist the effects of a disruptive event, minimise adverse impacts, respond effectively, maintain or recover functionality, and to learn and adapt in a way that allows for thriving.
The International Federation of the Red Cross defines resilience as “the ability of individuals, communities, organisations or countries exposed to disasters, crises and underlying vulnerabilities to anticipate, prepare for, reduce the impact of, cope with and recover from the effects of shocks and stresses without compromising their long-term prospects”
In an emergency, disaster resilient individuals and communities are capable of:
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keeping themselves and their families safe from harm
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adapting to changes in the physical, social and economic environment,
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being self-reliant if external resources are limited or cut off, and
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learning from the experience to be more prepared next time
What are the next steps – what will you do with the information you collect?
The information and ideas that are brought together through the Mapping the Future project are by community and for community. They will be presented back to the community to guide potential action and initiatives at a community-level.
Through the Storm Response Fund, there may be seed funding for some initiatives.
What is the Recovery Office?
The extreme weather events of early 2023 have had an adverse effect on communities across Tāmaki Makaurau. The Auckland Council-led Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office has been established to coordinate the Auckland-wide repair and rebuild efforts on behalf of the Auckland Council group, New Zealand government, and community partners and stakeholders.
Where can I get information about the categorisation process?
Visit the Recovery Office website’s FAQ.
Where can people affected by the flooding events get support?
Visit the Recovery Office’s support service directory.
Book in to talk to a Navigator about any ways you have been affected by the weather events:
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Fill in the online referral form
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Phone: 09 884 2070
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At the Navigator drop-in clinics at a community facility near you
Why is PFK leading this process?
PFK's vision is Kaipātiki - a place where community and the natural environment flourish.
We do not see ecological restoration as separate from the life and wellbeing of community and we work to strengthen both, working closely with local communities across the rohe.
As communities begin to face changing environmental, social and economic realities brought by the climate and ecological crisis, what we understand by 'conservation' is being updated and PFK understands the importance of working in community towards adaptation and resilience.