Commitment to a major overhaul of Hawkes Bay's emergency response, which has been labelled 'not fit for purpose.'

The Civil Defence Emergency Management Joint Committee has fully accepted the independent review of its disaster response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

It highlights major issues ranging from communication failures to overwhelmed officials, and points to residents being told they were overreacting.

Joint Committee chair, Hinewai Ormsby, says they will be acting on all 75 recommendations.

"It's really important that we take those learnings and make sure we build a stronger system going forward." 

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