Preparing for an Emergency

Emergencies may not be something we think about every day but they can strike at any time and are disruptive to business, individuals and communities. Emergencies are unpredictable in occurrence and impact.

The Australian Red Cross has developed the 'Emergency REDiPlan: Four steps to prepare your household’ in the event of an emergency. Emergencies are not only limited to bushfire and storms, so you need to think about what types of emergencies may impact you.

In thinking about what you and your family or household might do in an emergency, bear in mind that you may be in a situation where:

Being informed prior to and during an emergency is your best chance of survival. There is a vast amount of information from a number of key service agencies available to residents regarding being prepared in the event of an emergency, these include:

Storms occur regularly in the Knox municipality, no matter what time of year it is. For current warnings please visit the Bureau of Meteorology. The SES Storm Safe page provides safety information of what to do in the event of flood or storm.

Getting to know your neighbours is an important part of preparing your household. People who know each other in their community are more likely to turn to each other for help, and in the long term cope better with crises and emergencies.

Neighbours can help each other in many ways and can include people in your street or community.

Don't be caught out during an emergency - make time to get to know your neighbours and their needs before an emergency situation occurs.

There may be people who could need more help than others in the case of an emergency - help that often can be provided by neighbours.

Don't forget to include plans to manage your pets and animals during an emergency. You should prepare plans for the safety and welfare of your pets, livestock or other animals before a fire, storm or other natural hazard affects your home, farm or property.

See Managing Your Animals in an Emergency for more information.