Abstract
Natural hazards are a recurring and formidable threat to New Zealand’s communities, with the additional challenge of climate change causing hazardous events to increase in intensity and frequency. The West Coast Region has relatively high exposure to natural hazards, with the small coastal town of Westport experiencing a number of disruptive events in recent years, most notably floods in 2021 and 2022. Westport is situated on a low-lying floodplain, and also close to the Alpine Fault, resulting in its exposure to a range of flooding, seismic, and coastal hazards.
Natural hazards and disaster research has adopted the concept of community resilience as a guiding principle in disaster risk reduction. In this context, community resilience refers to the ability to cope with disruptive events by minimising adverse impacts, responding effectively, maintaining or recovering functionality, and adapting over the long-term to better prepare for future disasters. Resilience is a key focus of New Zealand’s emergency management system, which relies on the coordinated efforts of multiple agencies working in collaboration. Regional Civil Defence and Emergency Management groups play an integral role in this effort, encouraging and coordinating joint action to support communities in developing resilience to natural hazards.
This study aims to investigate the role of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) at the local level in supporting community resilience. The research uses a case study approach, in the small town community of Westport. Semi-structured interviews with emergency management officers and community representatives, and an online survey distributed to the Westport public were used to gain insights into the current state of resilience, the community’s aspirations in increasing their resilience, and the role of CDEM in supporting grassroots resilience efforts. These findings were framed around Twigg’s (2009) conceptual framework ‘Characteristics of a disaster-resilient community’. Findings from this research will contribute to the wider academic discourse on community resilience and provide insight into the role of CDEM working at the local scale in New Zealand.