Making space for the Tairāwhiti Emergency Management Office to empower community resilience

After enduring several extreme weather events in recent years, the Tairāwhiti Emergency Management Office (TEMO) have developed a leading emergency response facility and approach, that is setting new standards in Aotearoa. TEMO’s emergency response facility, which opened last year, is designed to IL4 seismic standards, ensuring resilience against significant earthquake events. It features multiple communication modes, backup energy supplies, and data security measures, making it fully self-sufficient. Led by Ben Green, TEMO’s Group Manager, this epic team has taken a proactive approach to emergency management, which focuses on community empowerment and strong partnerships.

Empowering communities to support themselves

“Here in Tairāwhiti we have 42 communities spread across our 52,000 population. And many of them become isolated when a severe weather event or natural disaster strikes.” Says Ben. “When the worst happens, some of our communities may need to be able to support themselves for a week or two, or more. That’s why it makes sense for us to focus on empowering people within our communities to lead their own emergency response efforts.”

In addition to building their emergency response facility, a key part of TEMO’s empowerment strategy is being achieved by establishing community clusters. Each cluster is equipped with the specialist gear needed to survive an extreme event. Everything has been thought of, from emergency water generation, to shelter, off-the-grid energy generation, communications, and first aid supplies. Local people are then given specialist training, so they understand how to lead an emergency management response in their community and know how to use the equipment. So far, TEMO have established 19 community clusters, and they have exciting plans to add 13 more this year.

Creating secure storage space to house vital equipment

For Ben and the TEMO team, a key part of setting up these clusters was figuring out how best to store and protect vital emergency equipment. That’s where Container Space came in. As specialised shipping container partners, TEMO leaned on Container Space to help create secure, resilient storage spaces for each community hub.

“What Container Space gave us turned out to be much more than just shipping containers or storage spaces,” says Ben. “We needed a storage solution sure, but we also needed a partner who could help us identify where best to place the containers to ensure they are accessible. With their guidance, we have now deployed high-cubed shipping containers which are strategically placed outside risk zone. This gives them the best chance of being accessible during emergencies.”

Ben said that in addition to their expertise, the Container Space crew were easy to deal with, and took care of all the end-to-end logistics. They also understood the significance of the project and it’s benefits to the community, which was important to the TEMO team.

“It’s a pleasure to work with a team who understands the purpose and what we’re trying to achieve in community emergency preparedness planning,” says Ben.

A truly humbling spacemaking experience

Container Space Director Nick Walker says that being part of such a choice and innovative community initiative was an immense privilege.

“We’re absolutely blown away by the incredible work that Ben and the TEMO team does,” says Nick. “It’s humbling to partner with people and organisations who dedicate 100% of their time and energy to protecting the people in their communities. Having seen the immense commitment and work that’s going into this project, we believe the Tairāwhiti community should be extremely proud of the what’s being achieved here.”

Award-winning data capabilities

TEMO’s commitment to enhancing emergency response systems recently earned them a prestigious national award – the inaugural Member’s Choice Award at the Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards for their Common Operating Picture (COP) intelligence dashboard. This tool integrates real-time data with geospatial mapping to enhance situational awareness and decision-making during emergencies.

“In an emergency, managing the influx of data is crucial to understanding what is essential,” Ben said. “If community leaders have access to the right data, they can make responsive and informed decisions.”

Strengthening Aotearoa’s resilience through shared experiences

As Ben Green and his dedicated team continue to innovate and improve their emergency management systems, they set a standard for resilience and community empowerment that other regions eagerly follow. The lessons learned and partnerships formed through TEMO’s efforts provide a blueprint for effective emergency management in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

“We often share our experiences and knowledge gained from the many events we have dealt with,” says Ben. “We’ve certainly had more opportunities to put our learnings into practice, and we’re happy to share our knowledge with other regions looking to strengthen their systems.”

Need space for your community project?

If you’re looking for unique shipping container storage advice and solutions for your community, get in touch with our spacemakers, and we’ll make it happen.

If you’d like to learn more about the incredible mahi that Ben and the team at TEMO do, then we encourage you to connect with Ben on LinkedIn and follow TEMO on Facebook.