Maori Disaster and Emergency
Management
Taking Maori from the edge of disasters to the centre of
influence.
We know Maori institutions
and cultural practices played an integral part in the disaster response to the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-12. This response from Maori was spontaneously
extended to include non-Maori support through well-established but dynamic and
evolving Maori cultural networks. Local Maori insights (both Ngāi Tahu and Ngā
Maata Waka/Taura Here) were particularly valuable in supporting the vulnerable
city residents including the elderly and mental health clients. Maori, both
individually and collectively, operated alongside first responder organisations
such as the Fire Service and Police, government and NGO officials, iwi
authorities, international emergency workers, churches and volunteers.
This
project aims to improve engagement between Maori and mainstream disaster and
emergency organisations to enable Maori to engage as Citizen Scientists and in
turn enable more efficient responses to future disasters, whether that be in
the rescue of survivors, the provision of emergency supplies, medical care,
emergency repairs and ongoing pastoral support.
2 comments:
Kia ora Simon, I flew down to Christchurch the week the earth happened whilst I was working for a local TV station. I travelled all around the City could hardly find any Iwi or Maori organisation doing anything for disaster relief. Went to Nga Hau E Wha hoping that they had opened up their cooking facilities at least but it was a shut as tight as the proverbial clam. It was disappointing.
Kia ora cuz,
I'm not making excuses for TRoNT or Nga Maata Waka but the first week was chaos, it took time to setup systems and many buildings had to be checked for safety. Best response came from the local community and whanau who are always the first responders of course!
Everyone's learnt a lot from the experience but the trick is to maintain the knowledge over the length of time in which these large disasters recur. Haven't seen a lot of evidence for that yet...
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