The impacts of tropical Cyclone Gabrielle are now affecting many areas in the North Island of New Zealand and may cause significant flooding and damage to infrastructure and buildings.
The MBIE Building Emergency Management response team is working to support those territorial authorities and communities in the North Island that have been affected by this event.
In the event of a damage-causing emergency, territorial authorities carry out a range of building emergency management activities, such as leading rapid building assessments of damaged buildings, taking steps to manage the safety of people around buildings, and working with building owners to manage buildings following a significant event.
MBIE has several roles and responsibilities in a national state of emergency, including monitoring the event and response, reporting to the Minister of Building and Construction, providing liaison officers to the NCC, and co-ordinating the deployment of rapid building assessors where required.
The MBIE is co-ordinating the national response of Rapid Building Assessors (RBAs) to affected areas to conduct post-event assessments.
Once deployed to a region, RBAs will be managed by the territorial authorities’ local response teams who have responsibility for leading RBA operations in their area.
Rapid Building Assessor programme
Buildings across Aotearoa New Zealand are being assessed and assigned placards. After a rapid building assessment is conducted, a building is given either a red, yellow or white placard. These placards identify how the building is allowed to be used:
• Red placards mean entry is prohibited.
• Yellow placards mean access to the building is either restricted and cannot be used, or that you cannot enter except under supervision for a limited time or on essential business.
• White placards mean that your building can be occupied — but it does not mean the building is not damaged.
For more information about what the placards mean, and for more information on the MBIE’s building response to current weather events, see North Island severe weather events 2023.
Region-specific event information is available via your local CDEM or council web sites.
Additional resources
A range of additional information is available on the web site, using the links below.
• Building owners have a responsibility to ensure their buildings remain structurally sound following an event, and must allow authorised officials to carry out their assessment. Read more at Information for building owners.
• Together with Construction Sector Accord, Mates in Construction and industry, CHASNZ has written this simple high-level guide to assist those businesses involved in remediating flood damaged buildings and property — Risk Guide To Working On Flood Damaged Property.
• The Construction Sector Accord has put together contractual guidance for those have been impacted by the recent weather events — Contractual guidance document and background.
• This BRANZ bulletin covers health and safety considerations, tips for cleaning up inside and outside, drying out the house and repairs following a flood — Restoring a home after flood damage.
• Business.govt.nz has information available for businesses to help with things like looking after your employees, safely operating, and building and landlord responsibility — Extreme weather information for businesses.
To read more about the Building Management in Emergencies (BMIE) framework, see Managing buildings in an emergency.
For further information for territorial authorities and decision makers, see Guidance for decision-makers and territorial authorities.
