ACROSS the Hunter region, this storm season has proven to be relentless, and our NSW SES volunteers have been extremely busy.
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Storm season officially starts in October and goes through until end of March, but as we know, storms can occur at any time of the year.
With above average rainfall and temperatures, the constant stormy conditions have caused several severe weather events, most recently the major flood on the Paterson River in early January.
In Port Stephens there are two units: the Port Stephens unit is located at Raymond Terrace and the Tomaree unit at Corlette. Since October 2015, the units have responded to a total of 268 requests for assistance, including flood and storm jobs, road crash rescue, large animal rescue and assisted with a land search for a missing person.
The volunteers are trained in a broad range of competencies including storm and flood response, including chainsaw operation, flood boat operations, swift water rescue and road crash rescue.
There are also many ‘behind the scenes’ roles, including working in an operations centre. The system used by the NSW SES is known as AIIMS (Australasian Inter-agency Incident Management System). Under the AIIMS structure, there are four sections including operations, logistics, planning and public information. The SES is currently recruiting for these volunteer roles, and people with computer skills and media liaison skills are encouraged to contact us for more details.
Storms and floods can happen at any time with little warning. In Port Stephens, there are several known communities that become isolated for days at a time following major riverine flooding, including Hinton, Wallalong and Osterly. Every household on the floodplain needs to be prepared for such instances, and have at least one weeks’ worth of supplies, including non-perishable foods, medications, radio and torches and spare batteries. For rural property owners, it is recommended to have a generator and UHF hand-held radio to maintain communication within your community when telecommunications and electricity go down. Resilient communities are those that are well-prepared and well-equipped. The NSW SES is available to present workshops on flood and storm safety to groups across Port Stephens. If you would like more information, phone 4931 3222.
