Check your disaster risk with the local ‘Disaster Prepared Communities’ portal
Preparing for disasters is part and parcel of living in Queensland, but can you confidently say you are prepared for a disaster and know how a disaster could affect you?
Livingstone Shire Council has today launched a new interactive feature of its disaster dashboard to help the Livingstone community be better prepared for disasters.
Chair of the Livingstone Shire Local Disaster Management Group, Mayor Andy Ireland, said the ‘Disaster Prepared Communities’ portal will aid in the sharing of information, build understanding about preparedness, and assist residents in making decisions about readying themselves for, and responding to, disasters.
“A key feature of the portal is that residents can complete a 5-step Preparedness Check based on their property location, personal situation and neighbourhood to find out what risks their property could be facing and how to plan for those risks,” Mayor Ireland said.
“The Preparedness Check doubles as a personalised Emergency & Evacuation Plan that residents can download.
“Residents can also register for workshops, ask a local expert questions, discover links to useful apps and find helpful tips on how to make an emergency evacuation kit.
“Everyone in the community has a part to play in preparing for extreme weather events, which rarely unfold the way we expect. Being prepared is essential for responding to rapidly changing circumstances.
“It’s thanks to the great partnership that Council has with emergency management agencies and community services, as well as funding from the Queensland Bushfire Category C Flexible Funding Grant, that our community can benefit from this initiative. It forms part of Council’s strategic approach to ensuring our communities are well prepared before a disaster happens.”
Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said that the Federal Coalition Government is supporting communities to be as prepared for the threat of natural disasters, as much as possible.
“The entire nation can’t be disaster-proof but by delivering this new program, it is increasing disaster preparedness and resilience for the communities in Livingstone Shire Council,” Ms Landry said.
“Disasters currently cost Australian taxpayers $18.2 billion per year and this has been forecast to rise to $39 billion per year by 2050, even without increased frequency and intensity of weather events.
“It is fantastic to see the three levels of government work together to deliver this much need program which will be greatly utilised by the community.”
Member for Keppel and Assistant Education Minister Brittany Lauga said “Queensland has been hit by almost 90 significant natural disasters and weather events in the past decade leaving a recovery and reconstruction bill of more than $16.8 billion.
“Our emergency services staff do an amazing job helping us out in our times of need so it’s important we give them every support possible to continue to do their jobs,” Ms Lauga said.
She said research shows 57% of Queenslanders have an emergency plan, which is up from around 18 per cent eight years ago but there is plenty of room for improvement.
“Just last season alone Queensland was hit by 11 natural disaster events across 50 local government areas including a hailstorm, bushfires, floods and cyclones.
“Council is to be congratulated on the development of this portal and I encourage everyone in Keppel to visit and register for the workshops,” said Ms Lauga.
For more information about this Disaster Dashboard feature,
please visit: https://disaster.livingstone.qld.gov.au/
Although funding for this product has been provided by both the Australian and Queensland Governments, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of either Government.