Mayor's Message - Council Connections 9 October 2019

Disaster and Emergency Preparation 

It is that time of year to remind our community to Be Ready. Being ready will make a world of difference to you and the people you care about during and after a disaster or emergency event.
To be ready you need to prepare your property and have your Emergency Kit ready. Emergency Kits need to include provisions for at least three days (but we recommend seven days given the unpredictable nature of our flooding) including food and bottled water, any medication you may need, provisions for pets and animals, a fully charged mobile phone with a SIM card, first aid kit, cash as ATM’s and EFTPOS may not be available for a number of days, a radio, toilet paper and torches. You can download your Emergency Kit checklist from Council’s website, ‘How to be Prepared’ page and build your kit so that you are prepared when the need arises.

Prepare your homes by removing items around the yard that could become flying debris in strong winds and securing outdoor furniture and garden items.

Residents in beach areas should familiarise themselves with the Storm Tide Evacuation Guide – available on Council’s website, Storm Tide Evacuation page – to determine whether their home may be at risk of inundation. Check out our new Storm Surge video by visiting Council’s website, Storm Tide Information page.

People with homes in the red or orange zones should ensure they have a back-up plan to move to friends or family should the need arise.

For more information regarding Disaster Preparedness please visit the Queensland Government Get Ready Queensland website, www.getready.qld.gov.au, or the Emergency Management Queensland website www.disaster.qld.gov.au or call into Council and collect hard copy material from the front counter.

Hinchinbrook Multi- Lingual Emergency Action Guide

Council has been successful in obtaining funding under Category C Far North Queensland (FNQ) and North Queensland (NQ) Monsoon Trough Flexible Funding Grant Program to produce the Hinchinbrook Emergency Action Guide in an additional three languages. Translations will occur in Greek, Italian and Spanish.

The complexities of language and cultural differences seen throughout the local community and the regions transient tourist base pose serious barriers to first responders and emergency providers in reaching and guiding limited English proficient communities before, during and after disaster events.

The Emergency Action Guide focuses on natural disasters and provides information on preparing an emergency plan, emergency kit and evacuation kit. It outlines how to prepare an individual or family on the best way to survive a natural disaster and how to find information during a disaster event such as a cyclone, flood, bushfire, landslide, heatwave or severe thunderstorm. Without readily available multilingual informational resources and proactive planning to meet those needs of LEP communities, disaster scenarios will lead to increased isolation and vulnerability with LEP populations less likely to understand directives and warnings.

The Emergency Action Guide is currently available in English on Council’s website, Disaster and Emergency Information page or by visiting Council’s Main Office.

Zonta Club

The Zonta Club of Townsville has requested Council support to engage with interested women within Hinchinbrook, with a view to either increase membership or form a Zonta Club in Hinchinbrook.

Zonta’s charter is to take action for the greater good with respect to empowering women and girls and promoting and protecting women’s human rights.

If you are interested in membership or creating a local club, please send an enquiry to zontatownsville@gmail.com.

Need to print the Council Connections page? Click on the link below for the printable version. 

COUNCIL CONNECTIONS - 9 OCTOBER 2019