In the eye of the storms

As Taranaki’s ‘Mr Civil Defence’ since the 1980s, David Lean (pictured right) has vivid memories of some of the region’s most dire moments.

“Standing by Paritutu Rock during Cyclone Bola in 1988, watching winds so powerful that they were pushing the sea back out to sea – that was frightening,” he says. “I was doubly concerned as the father of three young children and knowing that the roof was peeling off my own house. But Civil Defence duties had to take precedence.”

Similarly, there was tension in the early stages of the emergency that was declared after a swarm of tornadoes swept through Oakura in July 2007. “That was a nasty, life-threatening situation,” says David. “As it turned out, one young woman was injured when a window shattered but thankfully, there were no other casualties. The property damage was horrendous, though, and lives were seriously disrupted.”

David reels off other big Civil Defence moments – Cyclone Hilda and the Waitara floods of 1990, the Waitotara floods in 2004 and, most recently, the widespread flooding and slips that occurred in June 2015, resulting in a week-long state of emergency.

Through all the displays of nature’s destructive power, however, there was always a positive constant. “What’s always been impressive is the rapport between all the players involved – medical people, councils, emergency services,” he says. “It’s important to have a team where everyone is on a first-name basis, there’s a high degree of mutual respect, and everybody works together to achieve the best possible outcome in the shortest possible time.”

In the early days of David’s involvement with Civil Defence – when he was Controller by virtue of being New Plymouth Mayor – he remembers something of a “Dad’s Army” attitude to it.

“That’s far from the case these days,” he says. “What you see now is all the forward planning that’s put in place and continually updated and upgraded. Civil Defence professionals are very busy people.

“Nowadays the community has come to understand and expect that someone will pick it up and be ready to respond when something horrible happens – someone that has done enough preparation and can accept the responsibility and leadership to take action to lessen the impact and get the community back to normality as quickly as possible. Getting the community back on its feet, back to some semblance of normal, everyday living, is to my mind one of the most important aspects of Civil Defence.”

He also believes that the Christchurch earthquakes were a wake-up call, making people more aware of the need to be prepared.

“There is better education now, especially at pre-schools and primary schools,” he says. “And then we’ve got things like New Zealand ShakeOut, the national earthquake drill. It may have been laughed at by some commentators but it’s important for people to practise and rehearse their response, and to think about the personal implications of a sudden, disruptive disaster. We saw what happened in Christchurch – disaster striking where many people thought it would never happen. We don’t want that attitude here. It will happen here in some form or other – it’s a matter of when, not if.”

For the future, he hopes Taranaki can continue to present a united front in the face of adversity. “I think people have come to realise that we need to look after ourselves,” he says. “We’re in a region that is not without its geographical challenges, and whether we sink or swim is largely up to our own efforts.”

The Chairman of the Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, Brian Jeffares, says David made a big contribution.

“For over 30 years now we have been well served by a group of outstanding individuals led by David. It is he who set the momentum and culture of Civil Defence in Taranaki. His no-nonsense, unflappable approach has been to the forefront in his time as Controller and I know he will be sorely missed.

“I wish him well for the future and on behalf of the approximately 107,000 Taranaki citizens, I thank him for his commitment to our province.”

Bev Raine served Taranaki Civil Defence in various roles from 1982 to 2007, working closely with David during emergency events and their aftermath, and on other community projects.

She says his “excellent leadership skills and ability to sort out the major problems from the minutiae” were evident right from the early days, and particularly during Cyclone Bola in 1988 and Cyclone Hilda in 1990. She recalls the teamwork involved as they worked through the sensitivities and complexities of relief funding and Government disaster assistance after the big events. “We seemed to understand each other and were not afraid to say what we think, and certainly not afraid of hard work.”

Get ready, get through

All disasters have the potential to cause disruption, damage property and take lives. So it's vital that you prepare now. Three basic steps are:

• Create and practise a household emergency plan.

• Assemble and maintain emergency survival items.

• Have a getaway kit in case you have to leave home in a hurry.

For details, go to www.getthru.govt.nz.

When the balloon goes up

When an emergency is formally declared, the Civil Defence Group Controller is responsible for co-ordinating the response. If necessary, the Controller can exercise wide-ranging emergency powers including ordering the evacuation of premises and places, authorising the entry of premises, ordering the closure of roads and public places, ordering the removal of vehicles and vessels, and requisitioning property, equipment, materials, or supplies.

David Lean first became Controller when he was elected Mayor of New Plymouth in 1980. In more recent times, he has held the position under contract to the Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, made up of representatives of the New Plymouth, Stratford and South Taranaki district councils and the Taranaki Regional Council.

The Group will appoint a new Controller in due course. In the meantime, there are six Alternate Controllers able to step into the role should the need arise.