Catastrophic Event Planning
Catastrophic level events will have long-lasting impacts on people and communities. Catastrophic event planning helps us manage and mitigate the impacts of catastrophic events in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Catastrophic Event Handbook
The Catastrophic Event Handbook V1.0 was developed with the help of many agencies. It was developed through the National Emergency Management Agency's Catastrophic Planning programme. It takes a system level approach to ensuring national level agencies are as prepared as possible to support and enable regional and local arrangements.
The Handbook is a milestone for New Zealand. It is a blueprint for responding to the most severe disasters. It outlines roles and responsibilities across 11 workstreams to support an All-of-Government response to a catastrophic event.
The Handbook takes a hazard-agnostic approach to response and recovery. It is scalable and arrangements can be applied to smaller scale emergencies that require national support. The Handbook supports development of hazard-specific plans under its framework.
The Handbook V1.0 is the first version published by the programme, which has developed content for four priority workstreams.
- Intelligence
- Mass Relief
- Logistics
- International Assistance.
This handbook is a living document. It will be updated as Catastrophic Event arrangements progress.
If you have any questions about the Handbook or the Catastrophic Planning programme, email catplan@nema.govt.nz
Download the Catastrophic Event Handbook (.pdf 2.8mb)
Hazard-specific plans
The Catastrophic Event Handbook supports development of hazard-specific plans. The first hazard-specific plan developed under the Catastrophic Planning framework is the National Space Weather Response Plan.
National Space Weather Response Plan
Space weather has always existed. But in today's interconnected world, bursts of solar energy from the Sun can have catastrophic impacts. They can impact our electricity, satellites and global supply chains.
A significant space weather event will disrupt critical infrastructure and essential services. It can have major impacts on communities.
The National Space Weather Response Plan helps national coordination for a space weather response. It considers the complex decisions that will need to be made in a significant event. These decisions will balance short-term disruption with potentially devastating long-term impacts.
It supports preparedness and response to a space weather event. And it outlines key roles and responsibilities for agencies that support a space weather response.
The plan does not change roles and responsibilities outlined in the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan Order 2015.
Download the National Space Weather Response Plan (.pdf 1.2mb)
The plan has been developed quickly to ensure New Zealand has arrangements in place for the solar maximum.
There is more work needed to:
- better understand the specific implications for New Zealand,
- clearly define roles and responsibilities,
- develop technology and human capability, and
- implement capabilities into the emergency management system.
This plan is a living document. It will be updated as space weather arrangements progress.
For more information about the National Emergency Management Agency's space weather response planning, email space.weather@nema.govt.nz