Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley says she is disappointed that officials were reluctant to use marae as evacuation shelters after January's floods.
It comes after an independent review into the council's response to the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods slammed "apparent reluctance" to work with Māori and iwi providers on emergency shelters.
Review author Mike Bush said the "failure" to establish a full shelter in Māngere was "unacceptable", while existing community-based groups were ignored in some instances.
Speaking to Breakfast, Bartley said marae in her ward of Maungakiekie-Tāmaki were ready to act on the night of the flooding.
"That Friday night, Ruapōtaka Marae in my area, they were already texting me: 'We're ready to go if you need us'. And I relayed that onto emergency management," she said.
"I think the report also highlighted the need to have more connectivity, and external partnerships for the next time when something happens."
The damning report praised Māori and Pacific community groups for "mobilising on the ground" on the night of the flooding, which Bush said happened "in spite of Auckland Emergency Management rather than because of it".
When asked on the night, a Civil Defence official said authorities preferred not to use marae "for a variety of reasons" before a state of emergency was declared.
The independent review outlines mistakes made by Mayor Wayne Brown and officials as the floods unfolded in January. (Source: 1News)
"The failure to establish a full centre in Māngere and the tardiness in setting up any facility in this high-needs area was unacceptable," Bush wrote.
"The southern Civil Defence Centre in Manurewa was not easy for evacuees to get to and ended up being very lightly used.
"The marae-based 'information centre' in Māngere was much more convenient and was crammed with people."
The centre in Māngere was only officially activated as a result of police iwi liaison staff.
Bartley told Breakfast that the report highlighted how situational awareness was lacking in authorities' response.
"You just look on TikTok and Facebook, everybody was posting about the flooding and that it was out of control."
According to the report, emergency services were forced to drop-off evacuees at hospitals and police stations while emergency management officials scrambled to find shelters for people left homeless.
A health representative in a meeting on the night warned officials that evacuees left at North Shore Hospital "risked diverting health resources", the report said.
"The regional coordination centre stressed 'absolute urgency' for Civil Defence Centres.
Reporter Logan Church is continuing his series looking at what our biggest city can do to prevent future flooding. (Source: 1News)
"They noted that 50 people evacuated from a Pukekohe rest home had been taken to a hospital as no evacuation centre was available. Police had also taken displaced people to the Henderson police station," the report read.
Bush wrote: "[Marae] who were already experienced in emergency welfare support and service delivery, and who had been tested during prior emergencies such as Covid-19, were not utilised. This is contrary to other local models, such as that in Northland."
Speaking to Breakfast, Bartley said improvements had already been made after the council's disastrous response on the night of January 27.
"I saw straight away that the evacuation centres were set up before the cyclone actually hit. So it's heartening to see those changes happening."
Flooded West Auckland resident reacts to report
Morgan Allen is a spokesperson for the residents' group, West Auckland Is Flooding, formed after the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods.
He told Breakfast that the report "was a good starting point" and that he wasn't "surprised" to see its findings.
"My situation and the situation of many of our group members is that these flood events happen so quickly, that we need all the time we can get. Personally, I only had about 20 minutes from the flood water entering my home until I was evacuated."
Eight weeks on from the Auckland floods, some residents are still looking for answers. (Source: 1News)
"Unless there is that considered plan ahead of time, we won't even know what to do with the time that we have. It's good to see the hard questions being asked."
Allen said he wanted to see longer-term fixes for stormwater infrastructure that saw their homes flooded. He said better preparedness was more useful than faster communications for people in dire situations.
"From our perspective, when you're in that situation, and your home was flooding, I didn't even know where my phone was to be able to see what sort of response is happening, what comms are going up."
Meanwhile, Bartley said it was important for people to see the report as part of an "ongoing" flood response, rather than just analysing decision-making over Wayne Brown's declaration of emergency.
"Communities are still struggling, even now, with housing. People had to move and live in their cars because they had nowhere else to go," she said.
"It's not just about the decision-making of the state of emergency, which the mayor has already acknowledged, you know, his part in that. So this report is a start."
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