National Crisis Management Centre
The National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) facilitates the Central Government crisis management arrangements and offers inter-agency and scalable operability to deal with any type of emergency.
The NCMC is managed and maintained in a continued state of readiness by the National Emergency Management Agency.
The NCMC is situated below ground in the Beehive (Parliament buildings). Its design is aimed at maximum self-sustainability in the event of a major Wellington earthquake or other local disasters and service failures. These measures and facilities include:
- Seismic protection to withstand earthquake loadings associated with a MMX (Modified Mercalli Ten) event.
- Emergency water supply.
- Emergency power supply.
- An independent IT network and emergency management information system supported by its own servers and back-up capabilities.
- An independent telecommunications system, backed up by alternative communication links such as microwave and satellite systems.
- An independent air conditioning and filtering system.
- Security systems.
- Fully equipped generic operations areas, offices and meeting/conference facilities.
- A fully equipped cafeteria capable of catering for up to 100 persons at a time.
- Some basic emergency food supplies are carried.
- Sleeping accommodation, ablution and first aid facilities.
Activation
When activated for a CDEM emergency, the NCMC is primarily staffed by the National Emergency Management Agency Wellington based personnel and officers from relevant support agencies. From the NCMC, the Agency:
- Monitors and assesses CDEM emergencies.
- Collects, analyses and disseminates information.
- Actions and coordinates national support to local level CDEM response.
- Accommodates, informs and takes direction from meetings of Central Government crisis management structures.
- During a state of national emergency, directs the entire response to the event.
The Agency holds fortnightly NCMC training sessions for its staff.
Alternative NCMC arrangements
Following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, work began towards establishing an Alternative National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) in Auckland. The Alternative NCMC would be activated in the event the Wellington facility is unavailable.
NEMA is working across central government to establish and develop facility, equipment and staffing capability for the alternative NCMC arrangements. This includes standing up the Alternative NCMC facility and training surge staff across government agencies to make up supplementary staff for an activation.