Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Exploring the role of search and rescue non-government organisations in emergency events: a systematic review in Aotearoa New Zealand(Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR), 2025-01-29) Curd A; Vinnell L; Johnston DMIn response to the increasing frequency of emergency events in Aotearoa New Zealand, search and rescue non-government organisations have become more involved in civil defence emergency management activities. Despite this increased engagement, these organisations are not formally integrated into legislation, response training nor response planning. Through a systematic literature review, this study explored the involvement of non-government organisations in emergency events and focuses on their historical roles, current utilisation and potential future incorporation. Traditional core search and rescue functions involve mobilising community volunteers, fostering effective coordination between community and the official response and deploying highly skilled personnel as well as supplying specialised training and equipment that can be incorporated into a coordinated response effort. However, the findings of this study reveal the essential role non-government organisations play in events often goes beyond these core search and rescue functions. As the number of emergency events increases, the importance of understanding how these organisations can be better used is imperative to deliver collaborative approaches and the best outcomes for communities.Item The communication of volcano information in New Zealand–a narrative review(Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2025-02-13) Das M; Becker JS; Doyle EEH; Charlton D; Clive MA; Krippner J; Vinnell LJ; Miller C; Stewart C; Gabrielsen H; Potter SH; Leonard GS; Johnston DM; Tapuke K; Fournier N; McBride SKCommunication of volcano information is critical for effective volcanic risk management. A variety of information is communicated to inform decisions and guide actions for planning, preparedness, and response. Such information needs to be reliable, and fit-for-purpose across different stages of volcanic activity (quiescence, unrest, short or long-term eruptive stages, and the post-eruptive stage). However, an understanding of communication across these different stages of volcanic activity remains limited. We undertook a narrative review of New Zealand literature to explore what information is communicated about volcanoes, across which stages of activity and by whom. Results highlight that NZ literature only documents certain aspects of volcano information and communication, specifically regarding certain locations, stages of volcanic activity (i.e. quiescence or unrest), or hazards. Literature gaps exist regarding volcano communication during unrest and post-eruptive stages, as well as how volcano information evolves between these phases, and how decision-makers use such information. Additional work would be useful to document existing examples of volcano information for different stages of activity. Further research could help in understanding the information needs of decision-makers during each of these stages to improve information and communication.Item Transformative approaches to disaster risk reduction: Social, societal, and environmental contributions to post-disaster capacity building(Massey University, 2024-12) Paton D; Buergelt PT; Becker JS; Doyle EEH; Jang L-J; Johnston DM; Tedim FThis paper discusses whether Community Engagement Theory (CET) could be augmented in ways that afford opportunities to develop a framework for understanding how emergent change and transformative learning can occur in disaster response and recovery settings. The foundation for doing so derives from appreciating that CET describes process theory that comprises variables representing adaptive capacities. That is, the presence of these capacities enables people to adapt to any set of circumstances, particularly when people are called upon to make decisions and to act during conditions of uncertainty. This approach builds on the potential for variables such as community participation, collective efficacy, and empowerment to provide a social context for people to formulate and enact strategies to support their recovery and to be able to do so when interacting with government, non-government, and business entities. However, based on a critical comparative analysis of relevant research into post-disaster emergent and transformational shifts in community capacity, it is argued that the above variables need to be augmented. The paper discusses the rationale for including factors such as community leadership, governance, place attachment, and city identity in an augmented conceptual transdisciplinary transformative learning Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) model. The function of this model is consistent with the Sendai Framework for DRR Priority 4, Building Back Better goal.Item A decade of shaking in the Garden City: the dynamics of preparedness, perceptions, and beliefs in Canterbury, New Zealand, and implications for earthquake information(Frontiers Media S.A., 2024-11-11) Becker JS; Vinnell LJ; Doyle EEH; McBride SK; Paton D; Johnston DM; Fallou LIntroduction: This study explored earthquake preparedness over time—before, during, and 10 years after the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in New Zealand (NZ; known as Aotearoa in te ao Māori). Method: Surveys of Canterbury residents were conducted in 2009, 2013, and 2021, using variables derived from Community Engagement Theory (CET). The surveys measured earthquake perceptions and beliefs, participation and engagement, and preparedness actions. Results were compared across the three samples. Results: Findings indicate that perceptions and beliefs (e.g., risk perception, outcome expectancy beliefs), and types of preparedness actions taken (e.g., collection of survival items, structural preparedness, community and/or agency relationships), differed over time, depending on people's experiences before, during, and after the CES. For example, during and after the CES, people were more likely to believe that preparing provided a benefit to daily life, but less likely to think it could reduce property damage, perhaps due to people's experiences of disruption and damage during the earthquakes. Discussion: An understanding of such dynamics can assist with the provision and timing of risk and preparedness information. This study highlights the importance of providing applicable and actionable preparedness information, that is relevant to people's experiences, throughout an earthquake sequence. Such information might evolve and change in focus over time depending on risks and needs. Focus could also be given to information that builds peoples beliefs and capacities to undertake preparedness in evolving situations. Understanding preparedness in the context of different experiences and timeframes is useful in helping update models such as the CET, where the dynamics of time might be better incorporated.Item How Visual Design of Severe Weather Outlooks Can Affect Communication and Decision-Making(American Meteorological Society, 2023-10-16) Clive MAT; Doyle EEH; Potter SH; Noble C; Johnston DMMultiday severe weather outlooks can inform planning beyond the hour-to-day windows of warnings and watches. Outlooks can be complex to visualize, as they represent large-scale weather phenomena overlapping across several days at varying levels of uncertainty. Here, we present the results of a survey (n 5 417) that explores how visual varia-bles affect comprehension, inferences, and intended decision-making in a hypothetical scenario with the New Zealand MetService Severe Weather Outlook. We propose that visualization of the time window, forecast area, icons, and uncertainty can influence perceptions and decision-making based on four key findings. First, composite-style outlooks that depict multiple days of weather on one map can lead to biased perceptions of the forecast. When responding to questions about a day for which participants accurately reported there was no severe weather forecast, those who viewed a composite outlook reported higher likelihoods of severe weather occurring, higher levels of concern about travel, and higher likelihoods of changing plans compared to those who viewed outlooks that showed weather for each day on a separate map, suggesting that they perceived the forecast to underrepresent the likelihood of severe weather on that day. Second, presenting uncertainty in an extrinsic way (e.g., “low”) can lead to more accurate estimates of likelihood than intrinsic formats (e.g., hue variation). Third, shaded forecast areas may lead to higher levels of confidence in the forecast than outlined forecast areas. Fourth, inclusion of weather icons can improve comprehension in some conditions. The results demonstrate how visualization can affect decision-making about severe weather and support several evidence-based considerations for effective design of long-term forecasts.Item Community preparedness for volcanic hazards at Mount Rainier, USA(BioMed Central Ltd, 2021-12-09) Vinnell L; Hudson-Doyle EE; Johnston DM; Becker JS; Kaiser L; Lindell MK; Bostrom A; Gregg C; Dixon M; Terbush BLahars pose a significant risk to communities, particularly those living near snow-capped volcanoes. Flows of mud and debris, typically but not necessarily triggered by volcanic activity, can have huge impacts, such as those seen at Nevado Del Ruiz, Colombia, in 1985 which led to the loss of over 23,000 lives and destroyed an entire town. We surveyed communities around Mount Rainier, Washington, United States, where over 150,000 people are at risk from lahar impacts. We explored how factors including demographics, social effects such as perceptions of community preparedness, evacuation drills, and cognitive factors such as risk perception and self-efficacy relate to preparedness when living within or nearby a volcanic hazard zone. Key findings include: women have stronger intentions to prepare but see themselves as less prepared than men; those who neither live nor work in a lahar hazard zone were more likely to have an emergency kit and to see themselves as more prepared; those who will need help to evacuate see the risk as lower but feel less prepared; those who think their community and officials are more prepared feel more prepared themselves; and benefits of evacuation drills and testing evacuation routes including stronger intentions to evacuate using an encouraged method and higher self-efficacy. We make a number of recommendations based on these findings including the critical practice of regular evacuation drills and the importance of ongoing messaging that focuses on appropriate ways to evacuate as well as the careful recommendation for residents to identify alternative unofficial evacuation routes.Item Children and Disasters: A tribute to Professor Kevin Ronan(Massey University, 2022-11-01) Johnston DM; Vinnell LJ; Becker JS; Kaiser LIn 1997, Professor Kevin Ronan published a paper in the first ever edition of the Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, titled “The Effects of a “Benign” Disaster: Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress in Children Following a Series of Volcanic Eruptions”. Over the next 23 years, Kevin and his many colleagues pursued aspects of children and disasters to both improve practice and advance scholarship in this area. In March 2020 we were saddened by the untimely passing of Kevin. As a tribute to Professor Ronan this special issue of the Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies brings together accounts of current research and practice initiatives inspired by, building upon, and directly influenced by Professor Ronan’s work.Item Factors influencing individual ability to follow physical distancing recommendations in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population survey(Taylor and Francis Group, 2021-02-14) Gray L; Rose SB; Stanley J; Zhang J; Tassell-Matamua N; Puloka V; Kvalsvig A; Wiles S; Murton SA; Johnston DM; Becker JS; MacDonald C; Baker MGPhysical distancing (also commonly known as social distancing) is an important non-pharmaceutical strategy to minimise the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. A range of restrictions to promote physical distancing form a key part of the Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) all-of-government response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of physical distancing strategies is highly dependent on buy-in and the actions of individuals, households and communities. This NZ population survey was conducted to identify people’s views on the effectiveness of various strategies, and factors impacting on their capacity to follow physical distancing requirements during Alert Levels 4, 3, and 2 (April 24th–June 8th 2020). The majority of the 2407 participants were supportive of the public health measures implemented to promote physical distancing across Alert Levels. Few substantial differences were observed in relation to demographic characteristics, suggesting high overall levels of understanding and willingness to adhere to distancing requirements. Around half of the participants reported difficulties practicing physical distancing when in public. Reasons included being an essential worker and challenges related to the behaviour of others. These survey findings highlight the willingness of NZ’s population to play their part in eliminating COVID-19 transmission, and the way in which behavioural change was rapidly adopted in line with government requirements.Item Tsunami awareness and preparedness in Aotearoa New Zealand: The evolution of community understanding(Elsevier Ltd, 2021-11-01) Dhellemmes A; Leonard GS; Johnston DM; Vinnell LJ; Becker JS; Fraser SA; Paton DAfter catastrophic events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami there is a clear need for vulnerable countries like Aotearoa New Zealand to get prepared for tsunami. In the last ten years, the New Zealand government initiated major efforts to raise awareness of tsunami risk among coastal residents. This study explores tsunami awareness, preparedness, and evacuation intentions among residents of the East Coast of the North Island in a 2015 survey. The ten chosen locations also participated in a tsunami survey in 2003, with results demonstrating that tsunami awareness rose in the twelve years between the surveys. The 2015 survey also included questions on preparedness and intended action. Even though coastal residents know they live in a tsunami prone area, preparedness is relatively low and high expectations of a formal warning remain, even for a local source tsunami scenario. Furthermore, survey respondents had unrealistic ideas of evacuation procedures. When asked about their evacuation intentions, respondents intended to undertake a number of different actions before evacuating their homes, which could cause significant delays in the evacuation process. Most respondents were also reluctant to evacuate on foot and prefer using their vehicles instead, which could create dangerous traffic congestion. These surveyed intentions are consistent with a study of actual evacuation behaviours in the subsequent 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and tsunami, providing validation for the survey indicators. This paper identifies the procedures least understood by the public and offers some solutions to improve tsunami preparedness.Item To cordon or not to cordon: The inherent complexities of post-earthquake cordoning learned from christchurch and wellington experiences(New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE), 2021-03-01) Shrestha SR; Orchiston CHR; Elwood KJ; Johnston DM; Becker JSThe use of post-earthquake cordons as a tool to support emergency managers after an event has been documented around the world. However, there is limited research that attempts to understand the inherent complexities of cordoning once applied, particularly the longer-term impacts and consequences. This research aims to fill the gap by providing a detailed understanding of cordons, their management, and the implications of cordoning in a post-earthquake environment. We use a qualitative method to understand cordons through case studies of two cities where cordons were used at different temporal and spatial scales: Christchurch (M6.3, February 2011) and Wellington (M7.8 in Kaikōura, November 2016), New Zealand. Data was collected through 21 key informant interviews obtained through purposive and snowball sampling of participants who were directly or indirectly involved in a decision-making role and/or had influence in relation to the cordoning process. The participants were from varying backgrounds and roles i.e. emergency managers, council members, business representatives, insurance representatives, police, and communication managers. We find that cordons are used primarily as a tool to control access for the purpose of life safety and security, but cordons can also be adapted to support recovery. Broadly, our analysis suggests two key aspects, ‘decision-making’ and ‘operations and management’, which overlap and interact as part of a complex system. The underlying complexity arises in large part due to the multitude of sectors affected by cordons: economics, law, politics, governance, evacuation, civil liberties, available resources etc. The complexity further increases as the duration of cordoning is extended.