Get Ready

Severe weather is a natural part of living in the North Burnett.  Becoming familiar with past weather events that have impacted your community is an important part of preparing for extreme weather events.  Click here to see what events have occurred in your area previously.

In emergency events it is very hard for the emergency services to help everybody – you need to take steps and prepare yourself, don’t rely on the services to help you.  Let them help the most vulnerable.  Following the below steps ensures your family is prepared before disaster or emergency strikes.  Links to Fact Sheets can be found on the Get Ready Queensland website.

1. Prepare a Household Emergency Plan (Fact Sheet 1)
2. Prepare for what you would do in the case of Evacuation (Fact Sheet 2)
3. Prepare an Emergency Kit (Fact Sheet 3)
4. Prepare your home (Fact Sheet 4), business (Fact Sheet 9), pets (Fact Sheet 7) and car (Fact Sheet 8)
5. Become familiar with ways to keep yourself and your family informed (Fact Sheet 5)
6.  Get to know your neighbours and help you community in times of need (Fact Sheet 6)

The following are the major hazards identified in the North Burnett.  Further information including tips and advice on what you can do to stay safe before, during and after each type of emergency or disaster event can be found by clicking on the links.  Use this information to help better prepare yourself and your family and complete the checklists listed above.

FIRE SAFETY

Visit the Rural Fire Service’s Fire Safety and You website and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services website to be well informed about the dangers posed by fire in your own environment – at home, at work and at play.

FLOOD MAPPING

Check out North Burnett Regional Council’s Flood Maps to see the extent of flooding in previous flood events.  They provide river height data to help you and your family better prepare and make decisions.

• Gayndah Flood Map
• Monto Flood Map
• Mundubbera Flood Map

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (ICE)

The ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency) campaign is a method of contact during emergency situations.

To participate in this campaign, all you need to do is store the number of a person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ‘ICE’ (In Case Of Emergency) in your mobile phone.

For more than one contact name, simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 into your mobile phone.

WHAT DOES SOS ONLY MEAN ON MY MOBILE PHONE?

Mobile phones enable individuals to call from most highly populated areas in Australia. However, the nature of mobile handsets and mobile networks means that in some circumstances calls cannot be made at all times.

When you are out of your service provider’s coverage area but are in another carrier’s mobile phone network coverage area, your phone may display a ‘SOS Only’ icon.  This means if you place a call to Triple Zero ‘000’ your call will be carried on the other carrier’s network. However, it is important to note that if there is no mobile coverage, you will not be able to reach the Emergency Call Service via a mobile phone.

For more information please visit http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/calling-the-emergency-call-service-from-a-mobile-phone–faqs.

STANDARD EARLY WARNING SIGNAL

The Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) is a wailing siren sound used throughout Australia for various emergency events of major significance, such as cyclones, flooding and severe storms.
Listen to SEWS to familiarise yourself with the sound.

When you hear the signal on radio or television, pay careful attention to the message that follows and act immediately on the advice given.

HELPING OTHERS

Those who can’t take responsibility for their own preparation and safety – children, the disabled and seniors – rely on you to help them through an emergency. The following information is available on the Red Cross website to aid these preparations:

• Household preparedness for seniors
• Household preparedness for people with a disability, their families and carers
• How to talk to children about emergencies

Parents who provide their children with mobile phones must explain to them what to do if they receive a warning message. If this happens when the child is at school, they must follow the emergency management arrangements put in place by the school.

The following websites have excellent resources for helping prepare kids for emergencies:
• Red Cross
• Queensland Fire & Emergency Services
• Triple Zero (also available as an app)
• Harden Up
• Before the Storm is an educational game for middle year students designed to get them thinking about storm preparation and disaster resilience.

The following links will also provide further information on helping others:
• Checking your neighbours 
• Prepare in languages other than English 
• Auslan (Australian Sign Language) version of the Emergency REDIPlan booklet 
• Public health information.

DOWNLOAD USEFUL APPS

There are a number of useful Apps available for your smartphone or tablet that will help to keep you well informed in an emergency event.  Visit Council’s Useful Contacts & More Information page for a list of Apps.

SAND BAGGING

Sandbags placed in appropriate places around your home or business can reduce the impact of flooding.  Although sandbags will not completely stop the water, it can reduce the amount of water entering.  See http://www.disaster.qld.gov.au/Be_Prepared/sandbagging.html.

HOW READY ARE YOU?

The Disaster Readiness Index is a short 9-questions checklist which focuses on the things you need to know, the actions you should be taking, and your understanding of your environment before and during a disaster. The result of the checklist is your very own Disaster Readiness Index, measured upon a base score of 100. Take the test here.