Councils prepare for wild storm season

With forecasts pointing to a wet start to the storm season and the continued risk of bushfires, Sunshine Coast and Noosa Councils are urging residents to act now, get ready and to protect their families, homes and businesses.

Both councils joined emergency service agencies at the Kawana Surf Life Saving Club today (Wednesday, 8 October) to launch Get Ready Queensland Week (6-12 October), a statewide campaign to raise awareness about preparing for extreme weather events and natural disasters.

The message this year is clear: be ready for anything.

Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the Bureau of Meteorology has briefed the Noosa and Sunshine Coast Local Disaster and Emergency Groups that we should prepare for a wetter-than-usual summer, with above-average rainfall.

“We’re in for a wet one with an increased threat of potential flooding impacting our regions, coming off the back of a wet winter,” Mayor Natoli said

“Understanding which natural disasters or severe weather events are likely to occur in your area will help you prepare for events that are most likely to impact your family and home.

“With Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred threatening and impacting Sunshine Coast residents earlier this year, we are all too aware of how a disaster can happen anytime and anywhere.”

Noosa Council Mayor Frank Wilkie said while the weather doesn’t plan, residents can.

“From bushfires to flash floods, both the Noosa Shire and Sunshine Coast region have faced it all in recent years,” Mayor Wilkie said.

“This season, we’re expecting a wetter-than-usual start, which can bring flooding and storm damage, but the bushfire threat hasn’t gone away.

“We’ve seen firsthand how quickly conditions can change – in March this year we narrowly avoided the full force of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Then in the first few weeks of Autumn, our shire copped around 500mm of rain which caused flooding and damage to around 70 local roads.”

Sunshine Coast and Noosa Councils will host free community events over the coming days to help residents prepare their homes and families for storm season. The Get Ready Noosa event will be held on Saturday, 11 October at Bunnings Noosaville and Sunshine Coast Council’s Emergency Expo will be held on Sunday, 19 October at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

How to prepare

Sunshine Coast and Noosa residents are urged to take the following simple steps to boost resilience and safeguard themselves, their families, homes and businesses:

• Step one :  Understand your risk
• Step two :  Prepare a household emergency plan
• Step three :  Pack an emergency kit .

For a full list head to getready.qld.gov.au. For the latest updates, practical resources and what to do before, during and after a disaster strikes, visit Sunshine Coast Council's disasterhub.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or Noosa Shire's disaster.noosa.qld.gov.au.