Get ready for this summer’s storm season

Good-bye Spring - hello Summer and the Queensland storm season.

Sunshine Coast Council and the region’s emergency services are getting ready for the storm season with a "Spring Departure" disaster management exercise planned for this Thursday and Friday.

The exercise will test the readiness of the Sunshine Coast Disaster Local Management Group (LDMG) for this year’s storm season with a desk top cyclone scenario during which residents will need to be evacuated.

The LDMG is made up of representatives from state and local government agencies, and other providers, including council, Emergency Management Queensland, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, State Emergency Service, Red Cross and Energex.

LDMG Chair, Cr Tim Dwyer said the annual exercise puts into practice the Sunshine Coast Disaster Management Plan and specifically this year, the new evacuation plan.

"This annual exercise is an important test of the LDMG’s readiness for disaster," Cr Dwyer said.

"But it is also the trigger for us all to check if we are personally ready for the storm season.

"The January floods showed just how quickly tragedies can happen so it’s vital that everyone is prepared for anything mother-nature can produce.

"While council and all the agencies involved in the LDMG are there to help residents in times of need, when disaster strikes resources are stretched to the limit.

"Residents need to have a plan ready to help themselves, their families and neighbours – whether it be a plan about where you can go, and how you would get there if evacuation is required or how you would survive if you were cut off from electricity or access to fresh food in the aftermath of a disaster.

"Basically all households should have an emergency plan - it is vital to the safety of you and your family."

To help you and your family to get ready for this summer’s storm season, look out for a special guide designed to better prepare residents for severe weather events which will be delivered to all Sunshine Coast letterboxes this month.

The guide is part of the Queensland Government’s Get Ready Queensland initiative. It outlines four steps to better preparing yourself and your family for storms, floods, cyclones and tsunamis.

The Guide includes safety tips, useful online links and contact numbers, and a template to develop your own household emergency plan.

The guide encourages the community to get ready and be prepared for the storm season by:

1. Preparing a household emergency plan

2. Preparing a household emergency kit

3. Preparing their home where they live

4. Tuning into warnings

For more information on how you Get Ready this storm season, visit council’s website or www.qld.gov.au/disaster