Disaster Planning
The Local Disaster Management Group are responsible for planning, preparation and responses to recognised Local Disasters.
Aurukun Local Disaster Group Membership :
Please contact PH: 07 40606811
Get Ready Queensland – If you do a little, we all accomplish a lot
Get Ready Queensland is about building our resilience to deal with the extreme weather and natural disasters that are a part of living in our state.
We want to make Queensland Australia’s most disaster-resilient state and we need your help to do it.
Don’t wait until it’s too late – get ready now
You’ll see them every summer; people who have left it too late to get ready and are relying on the SES for help. By preparing ourselves better before the storm and cyclone season hits, we can help take the strain off the SES and let them focus on those who need help the most.
Taking time now to discuss and plan for emergencies can help you prepare for, survive and minimise the impact and affect of natural disasters.
We can all take steps before, during and after any disaster to help reduce potential loss of life and property damage. The information contained on this website will help you to remain calm and take positive, effective steps towards protecting yourself and your family.
How prepared are you?
A few hours spent working through simple planning tasks with your household, putting aside supplies and securing your home could mean the difference between life and death.
Here are four steps to assist you in preparing your household for natural hazards and emergencies:
- Step 1. Prepare an Emergency Plan and Prepare for Evacuation.
- Step 2. Prepare an Emergency Kit.
- Step 3. Prepare your home.
- Step 4. Tune into Warnings.
You can also check your family, neighbours and prepare your pets.
Click on each of the steps above or see our sidebar menu on the left for more information and guidance for each step. You can download printable checklists for each of these tasks.
A great summary of how you can be prepared is the SES Get Ready Plan
The ‘SES Get Ready Guide’ is a comprehensive preparedness publication that provides steps to prepare for potential hazards that are faced by Queenslanders. It has safety tips, Emergency Plan and Emergency contacts templates for you and your household to complete.
Cyclones are destructive and inevitable
Every year between November and April, the coastal regions of Queensland are at risk of being hit by cyclones.
A cyclone is a violent storm characterised by high winds rotating around a calm centre that can produce winds in excess of 200 km/h.
These strong winds can cause extensive damage to property and turn debris into dangerous missiles.
Cyclones can also bring flooding rains, which cause further damage to property, and increase the risk of drowning.
Many cyclones also bring about storm surge, which is a rapid rise in sea level that moves inland very quickly.
Storm surge can damage buildings and cut off evacuation routes and be the cause of injuries and sometimes death.
While most deaths from cyclones occur as a result of drowning, many lives have been lost due to collapsing buildings or flying debris which can become lethal in high winds.
Being prepared is your responsibility
Preparing your family and your home for a cyclone is your responsibility.
Every person who lives in the cyclone prone areas of Queensland must recognise this and make it a priority between the months of November and April.
While local, state and federal governments can spend millions of dollars every year on disaster mitigation, response and recovery, these efforts can be worthless if families do not take the proper precautions themselves.
This section explains in detail the preparations that you will need to make during cyclone season in order to minimise the damage to your home and maintain the safety of your family.
How to prepare your family
- Compile a list of emergency phone numbers and keep it somewhere that is visible to all family members.
- Nominate an interstate family member or friend to be a point of contact in case you and your family become separated during the cyclone.
- Find out if your home is located in an area that could be prone to storm surge or flooding by contacting council.
- Identify the strongest part of the house (usually the smallest room) and ensure everyone knows where this is in case you need to seek shelter in your home.
Ensure everyone knows how to ‘Tune into Warnings’
- Tune in – to your local radio and TV station
- Log on – to the Bureau of Meteorology website
- Listen out – to any Emergency Alert messages sent to your phone
- Act – Warnings are urgent. Act immediately on the advice provided.
- Ensure at least one person in your household knows First Aid.
Prepare an Emergency Kit
Every family should have a fully stocked Emergency Kit stored safely in their home.
This should include a portable radio, a torch, spare batteries, first aid kit, non-perishable food, sturdy gloves, waterproof bags, candles, matches, essential medication and copies of important documents (eg insurance details, birth certificates, prescription refills) in sealable plastic bags.