Wellingtondave:

 

As an aside for the first world geeks, I've talked to a few dozen locals about going in for a Starlink (if they'd let one of us have one in an urban area), so that in a worst case event there would be communal place to get Internet and the initial buy in would be $75 and $15 per month per person to keep it active. 

The Ministry of Emergency Management and FENZ should be funding a Starlink dish for every CDEM incident centre and for every rural fire service, to ensure that there is Internet access for emergency services and as a resource for community hubs during the recovery phase. This morning there was no Internet or cellular coverage north of Wairoa on the East Coast, partly because the telecoms infrastructure was blown away / under water, partly because the power was off [see "Grid emergency: Power could be out for weeks in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne" https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=303250&page_no=28#3036329].

In the whole scheme of CDEM things, this would be a tiny cost, but would provide reliable backup or primary comms in fire, flood or earthquake emergencies.