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Southland newbie cuts teeth at Bluecliffs

After more than two decades of helping communities around the world in times of war and to recover from disasters, Adrian Humphries is now living his new dream right here in Southland.

Late in 2023 Adrian joined the Southland District Council as group manager regulatory services.

“When the job came up at the end of last year, I moved down as quick as I could,” Adrian says.

With his extensive experience in supporting communities, Adrian was asked to step in to support the Bluecliffs community following a state of emergency, which was declared in the area in February.

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott declared the state of emergency in response to erosion on Bluecliffs Beach Road following a storm that put homes and an old community dump at risk of falling into the sea.

Adrian is well versed in supporting communities after emergencies, having joined the medical corps of the British Army at the age of 16.

He trained as a combat medic and eventually as an environmental health officer, serving in countries across the world.

“As an environmental health professional, my job was dealing with disease outbreak, preventing disease outbreak, making sure water supplies were safe, getting rid of waste, making sure the food was safe to eat – so all the stuff that keeps people well.”

In the early 2000s, Adrian and his first wife spent time travelling around New Zealand in a camper and they fell in love with the country.

So, when it came time to take the next step in his career, he knew New Zealand was where he wanted to be.

The couple applied for residency and six years later they became locals.

Adrian took on roles as regulatory manager at Ashburton District Council and then Tasman District Council, the latter being where he continued to nurture his passion for supporting communities to recover after natural disasters.

“My career with the armed forces set up me up well for a move into emergency management,” Adrian says.

In emergency management there are distinct phases – the response – as a disaster is unfolding and immediately after; and recovery – helping people and communities get back on their feet once the initial disaster has passed.

“I did all the courses required to work in a response, but I gravitated towards the recovery side,” says Adrian.

Over the decade or so he worked at Tasman, he got plenty of experience due to cyclones, floods and earthquakes.

“We used to get an annual disaster-type event in Tasman."

He highlights three key things that make or break a response and then a recovery.

“Everybody wants to know more; people want to know what’s happening and how they’re going to be affected.

“So, honest, clear, straight-forward, understandable communication has got to be your number one priority.”

Secondly, Adrian says one of the biggest threats to a response and recovery is the rumour mill or the conspiracies.

“You need to give people the truth, be honest, and give it from day one. The key is to trap the rumours early and dispel them.

“One of the most successful things I’ve done in many responses has been to physically go out and talk to people.

“I would ask lots of questions and listen to their ideas for solutions. I’d be clear that a lot of those ‘Plan As’ weren’t going to be possible.

“We’d have a conversation and somewhere around Plan J you get something you can assist with.”

Adrian’s third key learning is that the best recovery phases happen when the people responsible for recovery are involved from day one of the disaster.

“That helps confirm the relationships in the community. If you’ve been in the community from day one, if you’ve formed those links and people know who you are, if you’ve identified your local champions then you’re halfway there.

“You can advocate for the community, and you can connect people with the right agencies and organisations.

“The most successful recoveries I’ve been involved in have been ones where we’ve been able to lean on our experienced people to maintain those really good networks that are set up with the likes of

Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Police, Red Cross, Hoto Hone St John, Iwi, that sort of thing,” Adrian says.

Unfortunately, due to timing and illness, Adrian couldn’t be involved in the initial phase of the Bluecliffs response, but

he stepped in as recovery manager for Emergency Management Southland following the end of the state of emergency declaration.

Emergency Management Southland is a shared service with the four councils in Southland – Environment Southland, Southland District, Gore District and Invercargill City Councils.

From Adrian’s perspective, the response at Bluecliffs was like any other response.

“You do what you think is right at the time. You get stuck in, and you support people as best you can. The controllers did very well. They evacuated people when they thought there was a risk, and they kept people reasonably well informed.

“The dump site was cleared, which is great. Now people are looking for what happens next.

“The thing about recovery – it’s not just about the money, but it’s all about the money.

“That’s one of the biggest challenges at Bluecliffs, and for many coastal communities around Southland and around New Zealand – all the options cost massive amounts of money,” Adrian says.

In his regular day job, Adrian oversees the environmental health, legal and compliance, building assurance and resource consents teams at Southland District Council.

It’s a role that keeps him busy, but he’s delighted that he gets to work with good people, committed to Southland and keen to do a good job.

And he’s keen to keep his finger on the pulse when it comes to emergency management.

“Now that I’ve been here for a few months and cut my teeth, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to work with the rest of the civil defence community here and be ready for the next one.”

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