Mayors and iwi leaders in Hawke's Bay admit it's time to throw out the emergency management system and start again.
A new report into the region's Civil Defence response to Cyclone Gabrielle has found there weren't enough trained emergency leaders, leading to confusion and burnout.
It also found controllers were overconfident about their readiness for a disaster and didn't plan for the worst-case scenario.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazelhurst spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
