Emergency Management

Sorell Council’s Municipal Emergency Management Plan details planning around emergency-related risks to the community. It also provides a way to mitigate and counter the impact and effects of an emergency that may arise within the Municipal area.

How to prepare for an emergency

The following are some tips for your family to consider in order to prepare for an emergency:

• How will you stay in touch in the event of, or after an emergency?
• How will you contact each other if you are separated?
• Who will collect family members and who will check on neighbours?
• Where will you meet?
• What will you do about pets?

What should I take when evacuating?

When evacuating you should ensure that you take any essential medications with you. It is recommended that you take an emergency kit which should include:

• Water (at least 5 litres per person)
• Food
• Medications and toiletries
• Essential papers and cash
• A battery operated radio and torch
• A supply of spare batteries
• Spare clothing
• Mobile phone and charger
• Bed linen, towels and something to sleep on.

Red Cross redi plan is located at https://www.redcross.org.au/getmedia/b896b60f-5b6c-49b2-a114-57be2073a1c2/red-cross-rediplan-disaster-preparedness-guide.pdf.aspx

TasALERT

TasALERT is an emergency warning and information system in an online platform. The homepage of the website will change to highlight any current incidents within Tasmania. Find it at http://alert.tas.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx

For warnings and advice please tune in to your local ABC radio station. In the Hobart area this is 936 on the AM frequency.

Bushfire – www.fire.tas.gov.au/

Bushfire emergency Kit information: www.fire.tas.gov.au/userfiles/tym/file/Bushfire%20publications/Final150516TFSEmergencyFactSheet.pdf

Flood, Storm, Tsunami, Landslide – www.ses.tas.gov.au/

For State Emergency Service (SES) flood and storm assistance – phone 132 500

Roads – www.police.tas.gov.au/community-alerts/

• For assistance with non life threatening emergencies – phone 131 444
• For Crime Stoppers – phone 1800 333 000
• For traffic updates and alerts – phone 13 19 40

Tasmanian Public Health Hotline – 1800 671 738

Weather – for current weather and up to date forecasts visit the Bureau of Meteorology

Power – To report an outage, check with your neighbours first, then call Tas Networks to report an outage or to hear the current outages in your area. Phone 132 004. Check this website for outages – www.tasnetworks.com.au/outages Please keep away from fallen lines and report them by phoning 132 004.

Like most of Tasmania’s East Coast, the Sorell Municipality, on average, receives a lower than average annual rainfall when compared with the rest of the State.  However, the Municipality on occasions, is subject to rainfall events that are high in intensity and short in duration.  These events can occur at any time during the year.  Depending on the amount of rain and where it falls determines the extent of local flooding issues.  Flash floods are a result of fast rising water and fast receding water. Flood events are often shallow waters, but fast moving.

Flooding also occurs when the Municipality has received regular rainfall over an extended period of time and the ground becomes so saturated that it cannot absorb any further rainfall.   In coastal areas when a high tide occurs in the same period as an extreme rainfall event, flooding can be even worse.

Most residents are aware of the rivers, streams and rivulets that run through the region.  There are also a number of constructed drains (e.g. the one that runs along Montagu Street) and naturally occurring overland drainage pathways that generally remain dry for most of the year.  It is important that all these overland drainage paths are well maintained and kept free from obstructions including fencing and other structures.

Your property maybe at risk of flood damage if:

• You are near a waterway, including naturally occurring ephemeral waterways that are usually dry.
• Your property is in a natural depression, including behind a coastal dune strip.
• Your property slopes up into surrounding farmland or natural bushland.
• Your property is in a low-lying area near the coast or a waterway.
• Your property is located at the bottom of a hill with adjoining developed properties above.

Flood maps are available for the urban areas to see if your property maybe subject to flooding.

Flood Maps

Council commissioned a number of flood studies for the Municipality, including:

• Urban areas of Sorell, Midway Point and the Southern Beaches 1% AEP flood mapping: broad scale flood modelling used to approximate flood extents through the Municipality’s overland flow paths at a whole of catchment scale.

They show the drainage lines and natural flood ways where flood water is predicted to travel through during a 1% AEP event.

The modelling has been done at a catchment wide level and provides an indication of potential hazards but may not be accurate at a property level. Seek independent advice for your site-specific flood risk.

The modelling identifies major flow paths during extreme events. It does not pick up localised nuisance flooding associated with undersized pits or pipes or localised road camber. It also does not pick up un-concentrated sheet flow, such as what occurs at the bush-urban interface. Just because your property is not within the mapped hazard extent does not mean you won’t be affected in a flood.

Sorell Council Flood Modelling 1 in 100 Year Event

Council’s Role in Mitigating Flood Risk

Before a flood:

• Model and map flood risk.
• Statutory planning in flood risk areas.
• Undertake stormwater pit and grate inspections prior to a major rainfall event.

During a flood:

• Keep the pipe system clear of blockages.
• Ensure the main natural drains are kept free of debris as much as possible.
• Respond to customer requests about blockages with the existing infrastructure.

After a flood:

• Clear debris from waterways, roadways, and parks.
• Repair damaged assets.

Whilst Council does all it can within available resources to ensure the drainage/stormwater infrastructure for which Council is responsible is efficiently and effectively maintained and continuously improved, it should be noted that it is not unusual for drainage and storm water infrastructure to reach capacity very quickly during significant rain events.

Property Owner’s Role in Mitigating Flood Risk

We encourage you to monitor local flood levels and seek appropriate weather warnings via the Bureau of Meteorology’s Flood Knowledge Centre – Flood Knowledge Centre (bom.gov.au)

Property owners should do everything practicable to ensure drainage and stormwater infrastructure within their properties is kept clear of debris.

It is important for property owners in flood prone areas to have an emergency/flood plan in place to prepare for such an event, including ensuring the safety of animals and stock where practicable.

Before a flood:

• Know and understand the likely flood risk at your property.
• Ensure that you have adequate insurance, including coverage for all parts of your property likely to be affected (such as fences and outbuildings).
• Prepare a flood response plan.

During a flood:

• Move valuable and hazardous possessions to higher levels.
• Follow your flood response plan.
• If evacuating, do not return home until you have been advised it is safe to do so.
• Call the SES on 132 500 if you are in immediate danger.

After a flood:

• Contact your insurance company if there has been damage to your property.
• Check in with your neighbours.

To learn more about what you can do before, during and after floods, please visit the Tasmania State Emergency Service website.

The Tasmanian Government has been planning for a lockdown, in case it is needed as a circuit breaker to COVID-19 being detected in the community. You can read about their plan here – Lockdown plan | Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

COVID Safety Kit

Each of us should have in place a COVID safety kit that contains items to improve our personal safety and the safety of the people we come into contact with. Items in this kit can play an important role not only right now but in the event that new community safety measures are introduced or cases of COVID occur in our community.

These are the 4 essential items for your COVID safety kit:

• Tissues
• Hand sanitiser
• Face masks
• Check in Tas App

To help manage the ongoing risk that COVID poses, there are some key behaviours that continue to help protect all Tasmanians:

• Keep 1.5 metres distance between yourself and others when in public
• Wash your hands with soap well and often
• Stay home if you’re sick
• Keep a COVID test if you’re displaying symptoms
• Follow directions – Follow signs, venue rules and be mindful of the wellbeing of the people around you
• Use the Check In Tas App
• Wear as mask if required
• Get the COVID Vaccination

In times of emergency, we will establish and manage evacuation centres for any residents who are forced to leave their home and have nowhere safe to go.

The location of these centres will be advised via our website and our social media channels including Facebook.

TasAlert website and social media will also provide this information.