Browsing by Author "Mowll R"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    A new mapping tool to visualise critical infrastructure levels of service following a major earthquake
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-01) Mowll R; Anderson MJ; Logan TM; Becker JS; Wotherspoon LM; Stewart C; Johnston D; Neely D
    How can emergency management teams communicate to potentially impacted communities what a major event causing infrastructure outages might mean for them, and what they can do to prepare? In this paper we describe the process of creating a webtool for end users to visualise infrastructure outages that the Wellington region of New Zealand would face following a rupture of the Wellington fault. This webtool creates insight for three key groups: critical infrastructure owners, communities, and the emergency management sector itself. Critical infrastructure entities can use the tool to understand where they might consider infrastructure upgrades to mitigate gaps of delivery following a fault rupture, and to consider their emergency response plans for delivery in an emergency (leading to their consideration of ‘planning emergency levels of service’). Communities can use the tool to understand what infrastructure outages will mean at the household level in an emergency, including the considerable distances that some community members will have to walk to access services such as food and water and prepare for prolonged outages. Finally, with a greater knowledge of the gaps in delivery and of those community members that might need assistance with food and water collection, the emergency management sector can be better prepared. The methodology for creating the webtool is described, along with the insights that the completed webtool provides for emergency planning.
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    Creating a post-earthquake emergency sanitation plan for the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, 2022-07) Mowll R; Stewart C; Neely DP; Brenin M; Fisher M; Loodin N; Hutchison S
    The Wellington region in Aotearoa New Zealand experiences regular earthquakes and is vulnerable to potentially lengthy outages of wastewater and road networks. Recognising this, a collaborative project was conducted between scientists and Wellington’s water network management company, emergency management body and regional public health authority to create a coherent emergency sanitation plan for a major wastewater system failure. This work built on a foundation of research and a pilot study previously carried out in the region on emergency sanitation. Workshops with project participants created a plan to provide communities and responders with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The result is a plan that acknowledges constraints of provision but enables stakeholders and communities to take preparatory steps for, and respond to, sanitation outage events. The plan includes an important infographic about emergency sanitation options as well as what utility and healthcare organisations will do in the event of the plan’s activation.
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    Creating a ‘planning emergency levels of service’ framework – a silver bullet, or something useful for target practice?
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023-06-01) Mowll R; Becker J; Wotherspoon L; Stewart C; Johnston D; Neely D
    ‘Planning Emergency Levels of Service’ (PELOS) are service delivery goals for infrastructure providers during and after an emergency event. These goals could be delivered through the existing infrastructure (e.g., pipes, lines, cables), or through other means (trucked water or the provision of generators). This paper describes how an operationalised framework of PELOS for the Wellington region, New Zealand was created, alongside the key stakeholders. We undertook interviews and workshops with critical infrastructure entities to create the framework. Through this process we found five themes that informed the context and development of the PELOS framework: interdependencies between critical infrastructure, the need to consider the vulnerabilities of some community members, emergency planning considerations, stakeholders’ willingness to collaborate on this research/project and the flexibility/adaptability of the delivery of infrastructure services following a major event. These themes are all explored in this paper. This research finds that the understanding of the hazardscape and potential outages from hazards is critical and that co-ordination between key stakeholders is essential to create such a framework. This paper may be used to inform the production of PELOS frameworks in other localities.
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    Infrastructure planning emergency levels of service for the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand – A preliminary framework
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2022-04-01) Mowll R; Becker JS; Wotherspoon L; Stewart C; Johnston D; Neeley D; Rovins J; Ripley S
    Elements of a potential emergency response to a major hazard event can be identified early in the response planning process. Having goals for emergency provision of services, particularly infrastructure, would provide clear planning goals and actions for emergency responders. Agreed goals would also help residents more fully understand the likely nature of the service provisions following a major hazard event, allowing them to plan for events and resulting infrastructure outages. This paper proposes a set of ‘planning emergency levels of service’ based in literature and developed by practitioners that could be used to understand post-event planning and actions, across the critical infrastructure sectors. The resulting framework contains proposed planning emergency levels of service for the energy, telecommunications, transport, and water sectors. With potential local adjustment, this framework may be more widely applicable for other high-income regions. Limitations of the framework include that it has been developed based on literature and emergency management professionals' opinions and requires more research to ascertain its operational applicability.