Are we ready for another emergency in Grey Lynn? No we are not.

15 other communities have had significant help from Auckland Council. Waitemata has so far received no practical support. If there was another emergency, resident are unable to see any changes that have been made in our area, in more than 2 years since the floods happened.

At the March 2025  Auckland Emergency Managment event for community partners.  It was apparent to us, how advanced other communities are in their preparation. They have been supported by their Local Board or other funded community groups in their area.

We have been unable to find funded residents community groups in Waitemata to do this work. Grey Lynn 2030 is all based on voluntary effort.

Community to drive recovery plans

“Community-led recovery planning is driven by the community, for the community. It’s future-focused and about creating a collective vision after a disaster. It considers immediate priorities such as housing, roading and readiness for future events, alongside longer-term resilience and the impacts of climate change,” says Recovery Office Community and Social Recovery Lead, Linda Greenalgh.

“National and international research shows that communities who have a high degree of self-determination and who contribute actively to the planning and implementation of recovery activities, recover better and become more resilient.”

No such preparation has happened in Waitemata for our residential community –  One of the most complex, densely populated parts of Aotearoa.  We have around 100,000 residents plus many visitors to the area who come here every day for events, work, study and as tourists.

We have made numerous contacts with Waitemata Local Board members and Auckland Emergency Managment officers. They are well aware we are a community wanting to do exactly what they describe. We need to find funding ourselves or rely on volunteers to do this work.

The community themselves will lead the recovery planning process. Auckland Council’s role will be to support this planning, with a focus on building community capability, strengthening networks and communication, and enabling local leadership. 

Once communities have identified their recovery aspirations, council will support them to implement their ideas and link them into opportunities with a focus on building their capacity.

We want to map our area. Record who are the contact people for large buildings. Who has the keys? How do you get in and switch off an alarm? Practical stuff.

We know we have experts in this community who have specialist skills- we want to be able to call them in an emergency. This requires setting up a database.  We’d like to have a mini version of this American system. 

We want to work with the people who run the community buildings like the churches, the RSA, schools, halls where people could go to if they have to leave their home or can’t get home.

Simply we want to plan so we are ready. As AEM says – get community ready. This is a big job in a complex community like this one and so far nobody will take on this work without support.

Get Community Ready

Auckland Emergency Management Instructions Plan with your Community

These instructions are of little use for  residents in Grey Lynn, Arch Hill, Ponsonby, Westmere, Herne Bay and St Mary’s Bay.

We would like to be able to plan with our community.

After three events in 2023 and 2024 as a community we came up with 2 initiatives that we thought were achievable and would help with some of the biggest issues.

Auckland Emergency Management want us to work with our Waitemata Local Board.

The Long Walk Home – We decided to copy this event which has happened in Wellington for years.  Wellington Emergency Management suggested we do it on the same day in Auckland and they would help us from their experience. Simply people practice getting home. It might be from the City Centre to where they live, or back to Grey Lynn etc if

are further out.  We were planning a base at the Grey Lynn RSC, with education and help. Also it would have been a chance to start registering community members on Neighbourhood Support. There has not been any Neighbourhood support work in Waitemata for years.

We applied for 1$10,000 from Waitemata Local Board to run this event in Newmarket, City Centre and Grey Lynn

We were declined.  Just sent a pro forma letter. No reasons given.

June 2025

Apparently this year, Auckland Emergency Management will focus on “embedding Emergency Readiness and Response” plan concepts through community outreach.ne

Community groups will be supported with emergency planning, facilitating workshops for those interested in establishing a Community Emergency Hub.

We look forward to starting this process with AEM.

There is much to consider in this area:

Residents who live in Apartments – what happens when the electricity fails?

Underinsured residents 

Harbour Bridge – what happens if people in the Ctiy Centre can’t cross the bridge and can’t get home

Auckland University/AUT – every day many students come into the city. How do they get home?

New New Zealanders – our area has many new migrants without strong support networks

Catastrophic power failure – this is apparently one of our highest risks for the city. What happens if the power goes off for a while?

City Centre Residents – approximately 40,000 people live in apartments is the City Centre

Water – How do residents live in buildings that require electricity to pump water for sewage and drinking,

Access – doors and garages and between floors often have electric system. Cars can’t get in or out and nor can people.

Lighting  – lights for stair wells and public spaces

Electricity – for lighting, cooking and refrigeration, water pumps

We are aware of many possible issues for our community in another emergency.

We would like to be able to get on with planning them.