Description

This guide describes the roles and responsibilities of central and local government, and of other agencies, for managing buildings in an emergency using the 4Rs framework – Readiness, Response, Recovery and Reduction. It explains what is required, and provides detailed steps and checklists to help territorial authorities plan for, and carry out, rapid building assessments.

Scope

This guide applies:

• if a state of local or national emergency has been declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (the CDEM Act), sections 66 to 73, or
• if a transition period has been notified under the CDEM Act (sections 94A to 94F), or
• in other situations when an emergency has occurred (with no state of emergency or transition period), using the powers under the Building Act 2004 (the Building Act) and other legislation apart from the CDEM Act.

It should be read in conjunction with the CDEM Act, the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan Order 2015 (the National CDEM Plan) and the Guide to the National CDEM Plan, and other MBIE resources such as the field guides for rapid post disaster building usability assessments. Also refer to relevant resources provided by technical societies such as the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE), Structural Engineering Society New Zealand (SESOC) and New Zealand Geotechnical Society (NZGS).