North Burnett Gets Ready

Community groups and Council staff across the North Burnett have recently undergone training in operating Evacuation Centres and performing Psychological First Aid thanks to The Evacuation Centre Project, jointly funded by the State Government and North Burnett Regional Council, as part of the RACQ Get Ready Queensland initiative. The initiative, which is an all-hazards disaster preparedness and resilience building program, aims to position Queensland as Australia’s most disaster-resilient State.

North Burnett Regional Council Mayor Cr Rachel Chambers explained that Council’s number one priority during a disaster event is to look after the safety of our people.

“There is no higher priority than the safety of people. Although our homes are usually our shelter, sometimes there may be a need for residents to evacuate their homes if it’s no longer safe to stay. Ideally residents will be able to call on the support of family and friends if this need ever eventuates, but for those who cannot find alternative accommodation, the Local Disaster Management Group will establish an Evacuation Centre,” Mayor Chambers said.

If you are asked to evacuate it is because there is a real danger. Evacuation centres are generally only intended for short term stays, and may be crowded and less comfortable.

“By the time an evacuation centre is required, we often find that Council and emergency services personnel are already responding to the event. This lack of people resources makes running an evacuation centre difficult so we have partnered with community groups and leaders within our region and offered them the support and training necessary to operate Evacuation Centres throughout the region.”

The project also includes creating Evacuation Centre kits for each town in the North Burnett with the essential supplies needed to establish an evacuation centre.

“These kits will make starting an evacuation centre so much easier. They don’t contain everything needed to run the entire centre but provide the basics to make those first few hours much smoother.”

For further information on how you can prepare for an evacuation or emergency situation visit Councils website.

Image (From left): QFRS representative Tim Steele, NBRC staff member Anita C, NBRC Disaster Management Officer Vicki C, and Mt Perry participants Irene D and Beppie S go over the contents of one of the new Evacuation Centre kits.