Territory adopts Australian Warning System for cyclone, flood and storm emergencies

The Territory has adopted a new national warning system for cyclones, floods and storms. Here’s what you need to know.

A new warning system for extreme weather is being rolled out across the Northern Territory.

The Australian Warning System aims to standardise the information and calls to action Territorians receive for cyclones, floods, storms and bushfires across three levels: Advice (yellow), Watch and Act (orange), and Emergency (red).

The national system is already used for bushfire and heatwave warnings in the NT, and is in place in other states including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

NTES Planning and Preparedness Command Manager Gemma Bellenger Manager said the new warning system would help Territorians know what to do in an emergency. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Northern Territory Emergency Service said the new system would help communities be better prepared for hazards.

“It’s important to have consistent messaging across all emergency services so that it’s really easy to understand, for not just Territorians but for people travelling in and out of other jurisdictions,” Planning and Preparedness manager Gemma Bellenger said.

“The Territory is a transient place and it’s important that we provide messaging that is easy to understand, so that everyone in the Territory is prepared for the hazards that occur.

Each warning delivered under the new system would include the warning level, the location and the type of hazard, and an action statement.

Action statements will depend on the hazard, and could include messages such as “stay informed”, “do not enter floodwater” or “evacuate now”.

The warnings will be posted on the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Secure NT social media channels and on the SecureNT website.

BOM Northern Territory Manager Shenagh Gamble warned the build-up would be hotter and drier than usual. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

It comes as the Bureau of Meteorology’s high risk weather season outlook predicts a particularly severe build up, with El Nino and positive Indian Ocean Dipole events driving hotter and drier conditions between November and January.

“This hotter and drier outlook is contributing to an increased chance of heatwaves across the Northern Territory, as we are already seeing over the past week, particularly in the Top End, and also an ongoing increased risk of bushfires,” Northern Territory Manager Shenagh Gamble said.

Fewer cyclones and floods were forecast, but the Bureau warned storms remained a risk.

“We typically have around three tropical cyclones within the northern region and with the current outlook we would be expecting to have fewer than average,” Ms Gamble said.

“We would also expect to see less widespread flooding than we have had over the past two or three years, however the risk of severe thunderstorms and localised flooding as a result of those storms still remains and is still very much fairly standard for the wet season and summer period.

Originally published as Territory adopts Australian Warning System for cyclone, flood and storm emergencies