Whether you’re nine or 89, storm and bushfire preparedness is everyone’s business, which is why Council works with both school kids and local retirement villages to boost disaster resilience.
Residents of Southern Cross Care’s Noosa Waters Retirement Estate this week got to see Council’s Simtable technology show how a bushfire could personally affect them.
“The Queensland-first Simtable uses 3D hazard mapping technology to educate residents on how disasters like bushfires could personally impact them and provide a better understanding of how to manage that situation,” Council’s Disaster Resilience officer Ian Williams said.
“With these workshops, held in partnership with Queensland Rural Fire Service, our Fire Management team is able to clearly show the value in aged care and retirement villages developing a detailed facility plan. The workshops also highlight the importance of each centre being fully prepared to handle evacuations should a bushfire threaten their locality,” he said.
Noosa Waters Retirement Estate manager Deb Leask thanked Council for its proactive approach to disaster preparedness.
“The workshop was incredibly informative and is critical to developing a resilient and connected aged care sector in Noosa,” Ms Leask said.
“The Simtable and a bushfire scenario enabled all of us to plan for impacts on our village and how to best deal with these situations and possible evacuation procedures and put them into our own evacuation plan,” she added.
Council will continue to work with the sector to enhance disaster resilience.
“One of the great tools Council provides all of us is the Noosa Emergency Action Guide. I know our residents and many other local aged care facilities have copies so we can be more prepared,” Ms Leask said.
Last year alone Council’s Get Ready for Storm and Bushfire Season program reached over 2500 local school students, as well as hundreds of local aged care residents, each receiving a copy of the Noosa Emergency Action Guide.
A digital version of the guide is available on the Council’s Disaster Dashboard, which Council reminds the community to check out for vital information during a disaster event – disaster.qld.gov.au
