CYCLONE SAFETY Joanne Bibby – Fursafe® As more and more people become dog owners, the risk of dogs being affected by natural disasters grows. You might have asked yourself: What on earth will my family do if we are affected by a catastrophic event such as a tropical cyclone? Scary stuff! You cannot guarantee that your local Emergency evacuation centre will allow dogs in their facility, and so the question for all pet owners is, ‘Where will my pet stay’? ‘Who will be there to look after our pups’? Other questions you will need to ask yourself are: ‘How will we evacuate safely with our dogs’? ‘What happens if I am at work and my dog is all alone’? ‘What if my dog runs off’? This article will provide you and your family with prompts on how to prepare for, and respond to, cyclone risks in your area, whether that be at home or whilst you are on holidays. These prompts are not exhaustive, but they will put you in the mindset of how to manage before, during and after an uncontrollable event. It is recommended that you communicate with your local Emergency Services Department if you are unsure about anything and that you research past events / disasters in your community. If at any time you are worried about vulnerable family members or not being able to cope, please call Emergency Services for additional guidance! The best form of defence is preparation and practice. Never lose sight of the value of repetition in learning – the more your family practices evacuation, the more
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DOG WORLD January 2022
second nature it will be if the time comes when you need to leave. FURSAFE® supports the decision to evacuate early where able. Listen to Emergency Services, weather stations and other local disaster management services in your area. Register for Early Warning Text message / notifications with those agencies to ensure you receive as much warning as possible to prepare, act and survive. You can only prepare to the standard that is available to your family – not everyone can afford a cyclone rated house. Sometimes life happens out of the blue and we barely have a chance to think but try to think of all the things you can do to prepare in advance, that brings you a sense of ‘I’ve done all I can do’, and that the most important thing is to keep ‘my family’ safe.
WHAT IS A TROPICAL CYCLONE? Simply put, a Tropical Cyclone is a high energy storm containing destructive winds and rains. For those of us who live in South East Queensland, the likelihood of having a Cyclone on our doorstep is pretty low, however for the Tropical North of Queensland, cyclones are very common (just think of Larry and Yasi).
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The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said in October 2021 that Queensland may experience an average to slightly-above-average number of tropical cyclones for the 2021–22 Australian tropical cyclone season – a season which runs from November 21 through to April 22.1
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BOM have identified, that on average, there can be 9 to 11 tropical cyclones each season in Australia, four
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First Aid:
