Be Prepared: Step by Step Disaster and Emergency Planning

If you know the risks, good preparation and common sense are the keys to coming through a disaster event with minimal disruption to your life and community. 

Get Ready Sunshine Coast

If you are fit and healthy, prepare yourself, your family, your home and your business ahead of the threat of disaster by following some simple but critical steps.

Step 1: Prepare your emergency plan

Take the time to discuss what you and your family will do and prepare your emergency plan ahead of time. Then, if an emergency threatens, you already know how you will respond because you will have thought through each scenario.

Step 2: Prepare your emergency kit and evacuation kit

Could you survive 3 days without food, water or power? For many emergencies you may be able to ‘shelter in place’, either at home or at work. If so, your ability to see out the emergency will be greatly increased by relying on items you’ve included in your emergency kit and, if necessary, your evacuation kit if instructed to go to an evacuation centre. 

You need to take the time to prepare an emergency and evacuation kit well ahead of any impending disaster for your family and your pets [PDF 490KB].

When an emergency threatens and you must evacuate, make sure you take your:

• emergency kit
• evacuation kit 
• emergency plan.

Step 3: Prepare your home/business

Take the time now to prepare your home and prepare your business in case of an emergency ahead of time.

Step 4: Tune in, log on, listen out 

Make sure you know how to tune into warnings when they are issued and stay informed about current warnings.

When evacuations become necessary, you will be told through the media or by other warning methods, such as sirens or telephone calls using the emergency alert system. This includes an SMS message to your mobile or a voice message to your landline within a defined geographic area.

View council TV’s QPS Inspector Mark Henderson’s reminder to be prepared.

When SEWS warnings are issued you may be directed to:

• finalise preparations and secure items around your home
• activate your emergency plan and ‘shelter in place’
• self-evacuate to your pre-determined safer location with family or friends (usually on 'higher ground')
• evacuate to a council approved evacuation centre.