Tairāwhiti Civil Defence will be in Ruatorea on January 3, 2023 for the Ngati Porou Inter Marae Sports Festival – also known as Pā Wars.

Massive numbers are expected this year after a two-year break due to Covid.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management Manager Ben Green says they will have an emergency shelter tent and a water filtration system on display, which are part of the Tairāwhiti Marae Resilience and Emergency Preparedness Project.

The project has been created to sustain communities around a Marae in the event they are cut off from Gisborne following a flood or tsunami.

Next year the project will deliver the first nine of 20 shipping containers filled with life-saving essentials.

They will be placed in safe zones throughout the rohe that are at risk from flood or tsunami-risk.

Mr Green says bringing the emergency shelter and water treatment system to the Pā Wars is a great way to connect whānau to the purpose of the project and to get familiar with the contents, and how they need to be set up.

“It’s about getting our whānau prepared and making sure they know how to activate the equipment and use it when a disaster strikes.”

Mr Green says in the event of a major flood or a tsunami, those communities at risk of being cut off from the rest of the district will have emergency resources within their rohenga that includes:

• Covertex emergency shelters – these are 9m x 6m deployable emergency shelters designed for adverse conditions
• Emergency power – generators
• Water treatment – filtration, storage and distribution systems
• Medical equipment and supplies
• Communications equipment
• Rapid deployment toilet
• Non-perishable food supplies
• Camp stretchers.

The Tairawhiti Marae Resilience and Emergency Preparedness Project received funding from Te Puni Kōkiri ‘Kainga Rua’ funding initiative supporting the first phase of the project with Phases Two and Three being covered by Toitū Tairāwhiti (iwi collective that includes Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata and Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui-ā-Kiwa).

The project team also includes Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ), NZ Police and St John and NZ Red Cross to reflect the combined emergency approach in the event a State of Emergency is declared.

Pā Wars brings together more than 40 Ngati Porou Marae who participate in challenges to boost inter-generational interest and participation.

For more information about Pā Wars check out their Facebook page.

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