#cyclonegabrielle — Public Fediverse posts

A ‘crisis communication gap’ threatens #IndigenousPeoples

Dionne Phillips
Updated Tue, July 14, 2026

Excerpt: "Sara Wilson, a graduate communications researcher from Simon Fraser University in Canada, calls this a 'crisis communication gap' — something she highlighted in a submission to EMRIP's conflict study. Wilson previously worked in communications for the province of British Columbia's forest, land, and natural resources department, and also serves as a senior communications associate with Canada's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Her research spotlights underfunding, language erasure from public systems, and exclusion from decision-making during crisis situations. Wilson cites devastating #wildfires and #floods as examples of dangerous communication failures.

"In a report analyzing its response to 2023 wildfires, the government of the #NorthwestTerritories listed numerous concerns about how authorities communicated during the fire with #Indigenous individuals whose first language is not English. Its Official Languages Act recognizes 11 languages, but the government's alerts are issued only in English and French.

"On its website, the government highlights its working relationship with Indigenous governments, organizations, and communities to 'co-develop and establish bilateral emergency and communications protocols, as requested, before the 2026 wildfire season.' Government officials did not respond to emails asking what stage of the process they are in. Its website notes that in the interim they have 'developed an Emergency Response Event Communication Protocol with Indigenous Governments to ensure clear communication between Indigenous Governments and the GNWT during emergency events.'

"A paper published earlier this year by #ClimateCardinals, a youth-led climate organization, revealed that the overwhelming majority of the world's scientific publications are written in English. It argues that without more inclusive language, 'up to 6.5 billion people risk exclusion from climate policy, disaster preparedness, and access to critical information.'

"In #Aotearoa #NewZealand, #Māori communities have been hit by increasingly devastating storms, like #CycloneGabrielle, which hit the country in February 2023, causing 11 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

"The cyclone exposed some key barriers to effective communication, according to a study released by Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki, a community resource center. It also praised the Māori-led mobilization to assist those impacted by the storm, which included setting up community centers. 'A truly effective response requires more than collaboration, it demands a #Tiriti-based framework [based on the Treaty of Waitangi] where Māori exercise decision-making authority over disaster preparedness and response in their own communities,' it reads.

"Throughout Monday's session in Geneva, Indigenous delegates highlighted the potential of Indigenous knowledge and argued that better resources and communication would benefit the entire world."

Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/crisis-communication-gap-threatens-indigenous-080000046.html

#IndigenousPeoples #LanguageBarriers #EnglishOnly? #EmergencyAlerts #WorldPol #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

@peterw

#NewstalkZB, NZ’s leading RW news broadcasters told its listeners not to take meteorological warnings about the approaching Cyclone Gabrielle too seriously.
#CycloneGabrielle in Feb 23 was the costliest tropical cyclone on record in the Southern Hemisphere, with total damage estimated to be NZ$14.5 billion, in which NZ$3.18 billion are insurance loss.

Hilarious to hear Nicola Willis trying to take #NZPol credit for the seasonal price drop of kumara, potato and onions. Kumara, potato and onion costs had gone through the roof as a result of crops being written off in the previous 2 years due to recent weather events such as Auckland and Northland flooding plus #CycloneGabrielle

#ClimateChange #NZPol

Meanwhile, New Zealanders will also feel the effects of warming seas, with the ocean dictating much of the island nation’s weather, said Dr Georgia Grant, a climate scientist at GNS Science.

“Increasing ocean temperatures are one of the factors as to why storms like #CycloneGabrielle are expected to increase in severity under climate warming.”

#NZPol #ClimateEmergency

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/10/new-zealand-sea-temperatures-record-highs-global-average

"This increased the burden on remaining staff. In the event, the urgent need for specialist skills in the first hours of the response perhaps outweighed infection risk."

#BushInternationalConsulting, independent review of Hawke's Bay Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group response to Cyclone Gabrielle

https://www.hbemergency.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/HBCDEM-Response-to-Cyclone-Gabrielle-Final-Report.pdf

Intriguing, some people still maintain that *nothing* outweighs the risk of COVID infection.

#CycloneGabrielle #COVID #EmergencyResponse

Great article by Cindy Baxter:

Climate change is relentless: without action it’s only going to get worse, and the bills will continue to mount. Piha resident Cindy Baxter wants to know when we’re going to face our long-term problems head on.

https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/14/a-year-on-from-gabrielle-and-our-thinkings-no-bigger/ #CycloneGabrielle #climatecrisis

Reading the stories and being reminded of what it was like on the day and days afterwards, and what it felt like learning about those who had lost so much kinda brings it all back.

We had it good, others had and still have it terrible. I feel for them a bunch, and I bet other folks whose personal experience was as relatively easy as mine probably do too.

It's been a cruddy time for folks, and my fear is that we'll see more of this in future.

2/2

#cyclonegabrielle

I tell youse what.

We had it easy when Gabrielle hit, no power or comms for a day and water only came under 1/4 of our house. We had food, clean water, couldn't flush the dunny but because we live near the storm/sewage pumping pit there was a generator there towards the end of the day tidying all that up.

At the time we kinda felt ok, mostly because we had no communications so had no idea how bad things were. That didn't start hitting until days afterwards.

1/2

#cyclonegabrielle

The climate change-charged Cyclone Gabrielle was devastating, but one year on, Luxon's Government seems intent on increasing the risk of more storms like this by rolling back efforts to limit climate change.

One year on there is hope and despair
https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/cyclone-gabrielle-one-year-on-there-is-both-despair-and-hope/?utm_medium=share&utm_content=postid-62375&utm_campaign=&utm_source=mastodon

#nzpol #climatechange #cyclonegabrielle #storm #flooding #newzealand

"What I’m most struck by is how many people still need help with the silt, 10 months after the storm. ... Conspicuously absent from his list is any national or local government authority or major charity. I hear the same thing over and over again from residents of Pakowhai and Omahu and Esk Valley: the only people they could find to help were volunteers. “Without them,” one told me, “we’d still be knee-deep in mud.”

#CycloneGabrielle #NZGeo #Aotearoa

https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/cyclone-gabrielle/

@phil_stevens @ZippyGonzales
I’m old enough to remember Newstalk ZB advising listeners to ignore severe extreme weather warnings by a politicised #NewZealand Meteorological Service as #CycloneGabrielle approached the country.

Great to see initiatives underway to help Te Rawhiti recover.
#Nature #CycloneGabrielle
From slash to cash: Finding innovative ways to fertilise and heal East Coast land https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495503/from-slash-to-cash-finding-innovative-ways-to-fertilise-and-heal-east-coast-land

@explorergrace All the best for the future Grace, thank you for what you did during #CycloneGabrielle

The Side Eye - Deeper Roots [Cyclone Gabrielle, Tairāwhiti (Gisborne), New Zealand]
--
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/28-07-2023/the-side-eye-deeper-roots <-- Spinoff Side Eye story
--
https://teweu.nz/towards-an-indigenous-bioeconomy/ <-- towards an indigenous bio-economy in Tairāwhiti
--
“Months after Cyclone Gabrielle smashed Tairāwhiti [Gisborne, New Zealand], locals are still cleaning up the damage. The Side Eye travels to the erosion-prone region to meet the people asking hard questions about a plan for the future…”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #massmovement #climatechange #CycloneGabrielle #Tairāwhiti #Gisborne) #NewZealand #extremeweather #geomorphology #fluvial #fluvialgeomorphology #Gabrielle #cyclone #flood #flooding #water #hydrology #ecosystem #monoculture #forestry #forestry #risk #hazard #mitigation #monitoring #erosion #landslides #slumps #slips #slash #forestrestoration #pine #planning #impacts #humanimpact #publicsafety #economy #economic #governmentplanning #indigenous #Maori #firstnations #bioeconomy

#NewZealand fines #ship #Captain for risky maneuver trying to avoid #CycloneGabrielle #cyclones #shipping #cargo https://gcaptain.com/new-zealand-fines-ship-captain-over-risky-maneuver-to-avoid-cyclone/

I'm old enough to remember Newstalk ZB telling their listeners the NZ MetService were overreacting with their #CycloneGabrielle Warnings. #NZPol #ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/491112/cyclone-recovery-about-700-properties-likely-too-risky-to-rebuild-ministers

@davidgarywood @tootsdk I’ve just checked my followers, and they are a few accounts that haven’t posted in a few weeks, especially one of them who was replicating posts from Twitter during #CycloneGabrielle

Heavy rain that flooded northeast Aotearoa #NewZealand is now more common on warmer planet

Based on historical weather station data, the scientists found that heavy rainfall events, like those seen during #CycloneGabrielle, now produce around 30% more rain than before humans warmed the planet.

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/heavy-rain-that-flooded-northeast-aotearoa-new-zealand-is-now-more-common-on-warmer-planet/

#ExtremeWeather #WeatherAttribution

@donkey @JonathanMosen I hope it does get off the ground getting government in the department and parties on #Mastodon. I was so thankful and grateful to @explorergrace keeping me updated during #CycloneGabrielle.

New climate attribution study on #CycloneGabrielle which saw record flooding, killed 11 people & resulted in a national state of emergency in New Zealand 🇳🇿 finds the cyclone was 4x more likely & rainfall 30% more intense ⛈️ due to #GlobalWarming 🌡️https://www.carbonbrief.org/heavy-rainfall-from-new-zealands-cyclone-gabrielle-more-common-on-warmer-planet/

This look at the devastating cost and carnage caused by forestry #Slash by John Campbell only confirms my belief that all timber grown in NZ should be milled in New Zealand. Also a timely reminder to beware the allure of foreign investors. #NZPol #CycloneGabrielle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbdyeHvwCqo

#Climate #protests in #NewZealand and around the world after deadly #CycloneGabrielle causes #catastrophic damages; #Vanuatu hit by two severe #cyclones & #earthquake in less than 48 hours!

From Restore Passenger Rail: “Mayor of #Christchurch just admitted to us he didn’t even believe in #ClimateChange until #CycloneGabrielle 2 weeks ago.” https://www.facebook.com/restorepassengerrailnz/posts/pfbid0eiUnaBrPHsvBMJdpJwuQGNJsPbGWZ57XPqiFmxm37tFyuKQvN5YWMbRxz2FSQoaml #ClimateJustice #ClimateStrike #NZ