It’s an emergency, who are you going to call?
A NEW website will contain information from a variety of emergency services outlets.
Lismore
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A NEW online tool has been launched to help people more easily find vital information during an emergency, such as floods or bushfires.
Byron Shire Council has launched the Byron Shire Emergency Dashboard, designed to host information from the council as well as directly link to other agencies including the State Emergency Service (SES), Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
When an emergency, such as a flood or fire, arises, they can go straight to the dashboard for information and direct links to websites or social media feeds.
One of the features of the Emergency Dashboard was predictive modelling for flood scenarios based on rainfall in the catchment.
"Since the 2017 floods council has mapped the floor levels of every property in flood-prone areas and we have also upgraded our rain and flood gauges across the Shire," Infrastructure Planning co-ordinator James Flockton said.
"Behind the Emergency Dashboard that the community sees, is sophisticated flood modelling technology that will link directly to the SES allowing it to more accurately predict when and where properties will be inundated with water and in turn tell people to evacuate if necessary," Mr Flockton said.
"We have learnt from the 2017 floods and this technology allows early warnings for residents and businesses to prepare for floods and evacuation," he said.
The SES and BOM have worked with council on the development of the early warning system.
Included in the information on the Byron Shire Emergency Dashboard was a link to the council's new Climatewise website which provides information to the community about how to prepare for an emergency such as flood, fire or severe storms, what they should think about and what plans they should have in place.
Residents and businesses are asked to think about where they might be able to stay if they need to evacuate, and what arrangements they might need to make for pets such as cats and dogs.
The development of the Byron Shire Emergency Dashboard was made possible via a $250,000 grant from the NSW Government's Stronger Country Communities fund.
With predictions of a wet summer and the bush fire and storm seasons both in full swing, residents were asked to familiarise themselves with the Byron Shire Emergency dashboard.
The Byron Shire Emergency Dashboard can be found at emergency.byron.nsw.gov.au.
Public information and demonstration sessions are being held across the Shire. People are asked to bring a phone, tablet or laptop with them.
• South Golden Beach Hall - December 2, 4 - 5:30pm
• Billinudgel Hotel - December 3, 4 - 6pm
• Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club - December 7, 4pm - 6pm
• Brunswick Heads Community Centre - December 8, 4pm - 6pm
• Mullumbimby at Byron Shire Council Chambers - December 9, 4pm - 6pm
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