You’re never too young to be disaster-prepared, and with this year’s storm and bushfire season now upon us, Council and local emergency services personnel are taking the Get Ready message to local schools.
The Get Ready Schools program is teaching Year 5 and 7 students across the shire how to prepare for, cope with, and recover from, extreme weather events.
With storm and bushfire season officially beginning on November 1, Noosa Council Disaster Resilience Officer Ian Williams said it’s all about ensuring the ‘Get Ready’ message hits home.
“Our team includes local representatives from Noosa police, Noosa SES, Rural Fire Service and Noosa Council. Together, we present key messages and tips in a presentation about how we can all be more resilient so the students can share this at home,” he said.
“Thousands of kids will be part of these visits in the weeks ahead, and for every school we visit, there will be local families better informed about preparing for natural disasters,” Mr Williams said.
“Every student attending our presentation receives a ‘Get Ready’ emergency information pack to take home. The pack includes our Noosa Emergency Action Guide and lots of other fantastic resources. At home, we ask that each household completes the household emergency plan provided and puts this with a household emergency kit they prepare together – one that will last for 3-5 days if it’s time to evacuate.”
Noosa SES Local Controller, Warren Kuskopf, said he’s loved watching the Get Ready Schools develop and strengthen after a pilot project began with just two schools in 2022.
“The Get Ready Schools program is a great initiative developed by Ian, and it’s terrific when our local emergency services and Council can work together to deliver a program as special as this,” he said.
“The Minecraft theme of our presentation connects well with the students, and we all look forward to presenting at every school we visit. They also get to inspect our response vehicles to complete the experience,” Mr Kuskopf said.
“Last week we visited St Thomas More School and Pomona State School. We’ll be visiting many more in the coming weeks as the school year winds up, and we look forward to adding more school visits each year,” he added.
Queensland experiences more natural disasters than any other state in Australia and since 2019, Noosa has copped severe bushfires and damaging floods.
“By equipping our young people with knowledge and resources, we can empower them to prepare for and respond more effectively in emergencies,” Ian said.
For the latest updates, practical resources and what to do before, during and after a disaster strikes, visit Council’s Disaster Dashboard at disaster.noosa.qld.gov.au
