Well the after shocks continue here in Christchurch with a rather large one about five minutes ago.
First point is address geonet.org.nz but the .co will direct you to same site in a search to keep up with quakes. We are just getting a small swarm of quakes the large one mentioned been second in the swarm. Most of them are just gentle rumblings you can feel.
Military Aid to the Civil Power
There is a lot of good work & effort been put in, but the lessons still continue that need to be taken notice off.
First as alluded to yesterday & raised by a former army comrade there is no real excuse for people to be panic buying water & food. The information is there but people just ignore it. www.gettrhu.org.nz is the main site on how to be prepared, but very few do it.
Worked last night & was relieved this morning by a person who like me has always kept emergency water & food. Same experience with others laughing at them saying it wasn't needed. Now with supply channels restricted usddenly those items like water, food & batteries are in short supply.
Military Aid to the Civil Power (International Military Law & History Series, Vol 1)
A few lessons that need to be sorted with volunteer organizations is the systems. Observers coupled with my own observations is much of it has been disorganized, with a few individuals taking charge. There has been a duplicating of some resources because of people not realizing that what fits one situation doesn't fit the other.
There was also a lot of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, with a few incidents of hurried searching to improvise for items that another group had in spades next door.
Some aspects of aid to the civil power in Australia (Occasional monograph / Dept. of Government, Faculty of Military Studies, University of New South Wales)
Another issue that arose was people arriving wearing items that you would think makes them likely to be officials but were never actually part of it. They were seen wondering around areas(not the CBD) they had no right too or just sitting chatting until challenged on whom they were actually with. What their reasons were for doing it we don't know.
It was hard for the security as so many were volunteers & there was no formal identification system or lists of who was on duty.
MILITARY AID TO THE CIVIL POWER
The other issues as to why having the military on the streets of the wider area as soon as possible is the people now carrying out burglaries of evacuated homes. Unfortunately that was expected & someone reported it happening to them on the local radio station followed by a call from a person claiming to be a serving police officer stating there has been a lot of it going on.
Military duties in aid of the civil power during riots, etc: For the regular army, National Guard, etc., and police forces, generally, being a compendium ... relating to the putting down of riots, etc
Another issue that arose was one organization providing staff (many of whom are volunteers) with no training but they had the uniforms & gear.
We have been extremely lucky, but people have to stop treating this as an exercise & putting people on the ground without at least one experienced person in the mix.
Today was a classic example of how things can change. Some people were reportedly checking their building when an after shock caused part of the building to collapse causing them to flee. There are also confirmed reports of some illness.
The people that are likely to deal with this need to be ready.
As much as there have been great stories of groups, businesses & communities helping (like the group of University students moving from area to area cleaning up)we have been extremely lucky, there will be another disaster sometime & things need to be ironed out, not pat ourselves on the back. Had the quake been stronger with more damage & casualties these issues could of compounded an already fluid & frightening situation.
Military duties in aid of the civil power during riots, etc: For the regular army, National Guard, etc., and police forces, generally, being a compendium ... relating to the putting down of riots, etc
Of course there is other good stories like the head of Orion the power lines company who after the initial quake looked out over the city from his house on the hill & realized his company was going to be busy.
The thing that worries me is what I have struck since leaving the NZ military in the NZ Security Industry. After each situation as you do from military training I have looked at ways I could of handled it better even when things have worked out well. But the people I have worked with say "Don't worry about it. It worked out well, so we don't need to change things." That just reflects the New Zealand attitude to things. "She'll be right mate."
For all the good been done at present it will be undone if an honest assessment is not done & changes made. Change for changes sake is not good, but when it needs to be done it is essential.
We have been extremely lucky. Will we learn?
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
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