Prepare for Emergencies

In an emergency or life threatening situation please call Triple Zero (000) immediately. If you need assistance with Mental Health Support, please call Lifeline 13 11 14,
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 or the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511.

Interpreting assistance is available for any information on these pages by contacting the Translating and Interpreter Services please call 13 14 50.

Floods, Bushfires, Storms, Heatwaves

Are you PREPARED and do you have what YOU need incase of

> Evacuating your property?
> Isolating at home due to Road Closures?
> Power Outages?
> Emergencies affecting your regular Doctors visits, prescriptions and medications or other medical care?

Emergency Services, Government Agencies and other Community Organisations have developed many preparedness resources, which will help you to plan and prepare for Natural Disasters and Emergencies. We have collated these under the Get Prepared Resources section on the right hand side of this page.
These resources will help you to :

• Understand your risk to natural disasters and emergencies,
• Create emergency plans for your family and your workplace
• Connect with and help your Community to prepare for Natural Disasters and Emergencies.

STAY INFORMED

It is best to BE PREPARED, INFORMED and READY before you are evacuated or you are isolated in, or from your property.
PREPARING and forward planning ahead of time, and STAYING IMFORMED with current, accurate information will help you to best face an upcoming Emergency, Disaster or Weather event.

For current, accurate information during Disaster and Emergency Events visit the Hawkesbury City Council - Disaster and Emergency Dashboard for up to date information such as :

• Emergency Warnings,
• Road and Bridge Closures and Status Updates,
• Fire Danger Index and Fire Warnings
• River heights
• BOM Radar and Weather Warnings

STAYING INFORMED IN AN EMERGENCY WITHOUT ACCESS TO POWER

In the event of a disaster, it is not guaranteed that you will have access to internet or phone service.
A good way to STAY INFORMED WITHOUR POWER OR INTERNET is a hand crank/ battery radio. This will enable you to stay connected to Emergency Warnings when there is no power, NBN/Internet or 4G or 5G Mobile Network access.
The National Emergency Radio Broadcaster is ABC Radio Sydney 702 AM and you can also tune into Local Hawkesbury Radio 89.9 FM.
Tune in and STAY INFORMED for Emergency Warning, Evacuation and Weather warnings.

Other ways to stay informed in your local area include:

• Getting to know your neighbours, support each other
• Becoming connected to you local Community

BE PREPARED with an Emergency Plan and an Emergency Grab and Go Bag

An emergency plan will assist if your home, street or town is evacuated or isolated. In an emergency you will need some important information and items with you. It is best to have this information ready to go and all together in an Emergency Grab and Go Bag. This will help you to leave your property in a quick an efficient manner, with your most important items and information are in one place and ready to go go in your Emergency Grab and Go Bag.
Below is a handy checklist that lists some of the common items you will need.
Complete the Emergency Grab and Go Bag checklist which lists some key items that you can include in your Emergency Grab and Go Bag.

You will also need access to your Emergency Contacts and My Personal Information, which you can include on this handy document above.
This will be especially useful if someone else needs to contact your family for you. This could be an ambulance that attends your address, another family member or Carer that needs to contact your Doctor. This will also mean that you the have contact numbers and information you need, in the event you are evacuated. This is important because you may not have access to your phone.

It is a good idea for family members and children to have a bag of their own as well. They can then add any of their own precious items, or something to help pass time, such as their favorite book, a spare power bank for their phone or tablet.
For young children this might be a much loved toy or stuffed animal, or blanket that you know brings them comfort.

These are some items from the Emergency Grab and Go Bag checklist that you can have on hand in your Emergency Grab and Go Bag. You should also be sure to have any medications or other medical equipment relative to you with you. These items will assist you in an emergency, especially when you may not have access to power or internet.

Some of these are :
> a battery power bank to charge your phone in power outages,
> a radio such as a hand cranking solar charging radio or battery radio that operates without power or internet.
> a torch with batteries
> a small first aid kit
> extra packs of batteries

During flooding you also need to be aware of the Hawkesbury Roads and Evacuation routes and when to leave. Bridges and roads will become flooded and you wont be able to drive out. It is best to leave early, to avoid being cut off and isolated until bridges and roads reopen

Resources to help you to be PREPARED, INFORMED and READY

The Resources listed on the right hand side of the page will help you to identify the risks to your property and family.
There are Emergency Plan Templates, Fact Sheets, Guides to Prepare your Home for Bushfire, Flood Level Information and many other links to assist. These are from variety of sources such as the NSW SES, NSW Rural Fire Service, and other Emergency Services to help you to be PREPARED, INFORMED and READY.

As a result, during the next flood, fire or emergency situation, you and your family will know how to STAY INFORMED and receive the necessary Evacuation and Weather Warnings. You will also be BE PREPARED AND READY if your area is evacuated, and you have to leave your property.

What are the risks we need to prepare for ?
Natural Disasters and Weather Events

Flooding in the Hawkesbury Nepean Floodplain

If you live and work in the Hawkesbury floodplain, your home or workplace may be at risk of flooding. This may not be direct flooding, but you or your staff members may be isolated from work or home. You may be isolated on the other side of flooded roads and unable to get back home to your property. Flooding, as with other disasters may also affect your access to essential services and communication. These services may be turned off before flooding or bushfire impacts the infrastructure to avoid damages to infrastructure and assist with restoration. These might be ::

• Electricity and Energy Network including water pumps and septic systems.
• Mobile Phone Network
• Home Telephone Network
• NBN

Hawkesbury Roads and Evacuation routes

As water levels rise, the major bridges at Windsor, North Richmond and Yarramundi will become flooded and will be closed. Bridges and roads may be closed for several days or even more than a week, depending on the rainfall, or flood event that has taken place. It is best to leave early if you plan to evacuate as you may be isolated for extended periods of time. It is best to Know your Hawkesbury Roads and Evacuation routes and when to leave by checking.

How do I check my risks to floods and fires ?

Floods
Visit the SES website to Check the Flood Risk of your Work or Home Address, and check the flood levels in your area. Locate Flood Evacuation Routes and the heights of these routes.

Bushfire
If you live on a rural property or have bushland or grassed areas near your home, bushfires can move quickly move to your property. They can also result in road closures. Check you bushfire Risk NSW RFS - Know your Risk

Prepare for Severe Weather and Storms

Storms can lead to :

• flash flooding,
• bring down power lines and cause Power Outages
• high winds causing trees and branches to fall closing roads and damaging homes,
• blocking driveways and property access

You can check the Bureau of Meteorology for current weather observations, storm warnings or severe weather warning forecasts. There are also longer term weather forecasts that can assist you to BE PREPARED for the upcoming weather.

You can see Current, or Planned Power Outages by visiting Endeavour Energy - Current Power Outages.

How to GET READY and PREPARE for Bushfire

Make a Bushfire Plan with your family, and know when to leave. Maintain your property by keeping yards mown, clearing any leaves or debris and cleaning gutters. You can check if your home or work address is Bushfire Prone Land by visiting the RFS Website. There are many resources on the right hand side of the page to help you to prepare your property, what to have ready, what to pack, and how to know when to leave.

Summer Weather and Heatwaves
Hot weather can affect us all, but especially babies, elderly people or people who may be unwell or have existing health conditions.
GET READY for hot days, especially when there are multiple days of continuous hot weather.
STAY INFORMED on weather forecasts, reduce your time outdoors, increase your hydration and cold drinks and seek cool spaces such as public air conditioned spaces. To prepare early and plan for heatwaves, visit NSW Health - Heat and Heatwaves.
Don't forget about your pets and animals during hot weather and heatwaves ?

Advice from Local Hawkesbury Emergency Services about being prepared for Emergencies and ?

Please watch the video below where our local Hawkesbury Emergency Services and Council Staff, explain what you can do to BE PREPARED, STAY INFORMED, and GET READY in the Hawkesbury for Emergency events.

Pets, Animals, Farms and Livestock
Do you have a plan for your animals if you need to evacuate them?

You need to consider what you will do if you need to evacuate your pets or animals from your property. You will need a pet carrier for your dog or cat, or a travel cage for your birds to travel in if you evacuate. You need to have food and water packed for them also.

People with larger animals such as horses or cows, need to PREPARE and make a plan for your animals. It is best if your plan outlines where you will take your animals, and how you will transport the animals to the evacuated location.
This could be an arrangement with another farmer or landholder to agist and look after your animals in an Emergency. This could be a neighbour with higher ground in a flood, or someone else in another location all together.

PREPARE your stock and animals well ahead of time, so that you are not left isolated or in danger, trying to evacuate or save your animals.
There are resources on right hand side of the page, including the SES - Get Ready - Animals and Pets to help you to make an Emergency Plan for your Animals.

COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATORS IN THE HAWKESBURY

There are also Accessible Community Defibrillators across the Hawkesbury. Please make yourself familiar with those in your local area. You can locate some of the Community Defibrillators in the Hawkesbury by visiting :
Community Defib Project
NSW First Aid AED Locator