​Successful applications for free emergency resources

Auckland Emergency Management succeeds in funding applications for emergency-related books and a resilience conference.

The National Emergency Management Agency funding received by Auckland Emergency Management totals $128,500 and will fund both projects.

The first application was to create four storybooks translated into four community languages about preparing for storms and floods.

The second application was for a free emergency preparedness and resilience conference for Auckland’s Chinese business community.

Auckland Emergency Management head of resilience Melanie Hutton presented to the June 14 Civil Defense and Emergency Management Committee meeting and said it was the first time Auckland Emergency Management had applied for the funding.

$85 thousand is for the four children's story books which will be translated into Hindi, Māori, Samoan, and Mandarin, Hutton said.

Hutton said the second application came about from challenges working with Chinese small businesses.
“A lot of that block has been around language,” Hutton said.

Hutton said they were currently engaging with the Chinese small business community and communities for the four books to decide how best to approach the projects.

Cr Tracy Mulholland congratulated the team on the successful application and hoped to see community houses be included in the storybooks distribution.

About the conference, Mulholland said she was concerned about the price that contractors could charge.
“I just want to be mindful of the savings we can make because if not we come under criticism,” Mulholland said. 

Hutton agreed with Mulholland and said they were capable of doing some work internally.

“The last thing we want to do is chuck the work externally when we have the skills to do that mahi,” Hutton said.

Hutton said the team was in the early planning stages and said there would be a clearer idea of the timeline for delivering the projects after engagement.