the Planning key to managing weather disasters

by Jodie Powell

Weather might be unpredictable, but the Moreton Bay Region’s disaster management team leaves nothing to chance.

Moreton Bay Regional Council Emergency Management and Public Safety Manager Carl Peterson says the team uses an array of data to determine risk levels when wild weather is forecast.

Thirty-three flood warning stations installed since the 2011 floods deliver real-time monitoring and feed into information predicting the likelihood and amount of rain provided by the Bureau of Meteorology several times a day.

“There’s been a huge investment in having to get rainfall and river level gauges,” Carl says.

Disaster Management Co-ordinator Chris Barnes says even with the most sophisticated tools and flood mapping, weather has a reputation for doing its own thing.

“Micro changes in weather patterns can result in a significant change in a small space of time,” Chris says. “There’s no tool available to be able to predict exactly where weather is going to occur.” information - they use global models.”

Supplementing information are a series of checklists, which Chris says are crucial to the smooth coordination of disaster operations.

While the team uses technology to manage disasters, equipment also includes old-school boards tracking which sandbag stations are open and the occupancy of evacuation centres.

Chris says it’s important for people to stay up to date with the latest information.

Carl and Chris say the region’s geography leaves us exposed to severe weather at short notice.

Chris says it also leads to storms often appearing to avoid the Peninsula.

One way of doing that is to sign up to MoretonAlert - a free SMS, email and voice alert system that delivers severe weather and bushfire warnings, burn notifications, potential flash flooding notifications and information about planned dam releases.

Messages include information about the type of emergency, the level of threat and recommended actions.

“One thing the community can have confidence in is that we listen only to the Bureau of Meteorology,” Chris says.

“They don’t just rely on their own

“Locals will talk about the ‘dome’ over the bay and quite often weather goes around us - it’s to do with the terrain, which influences it,” he explains.

Carl says planning for and responding to severe weather is a constant evolution as new data becomes available.

The team used to swing into action based on Bureau of Meteorology advice of a 25 percent probability of receiving more than 100-150 millimetres of rainfall in 24 hours, but now activates at 10 percent. The strategy drew praise from the Office of the Inspector General of Emergency Management in its The South East Queensland Rainfall and Flooding February to March 2022 Review Report 1, which said it also ensured preparations were underway if forecast rainfall totals were exceeded.

“The 10 percent trigger results in MBRC’s severe weather response plans and (Local Disaster Management Group) regularly being activated and exercised to Lean Forward and Stand Up, with staff considering this business as usual,” the report says.

“While the duration and impacts of the event across the region tested the planning capabilities of all agencies, use of the early activation trigger meant that MBRC’s preparedness measures were in place 36 hours before the event’s peak.”

Chris says signing up for MoretonAlert and monitoring the Bureau of Meteorology and Council’s new Disaster Dashboard, which is available on the Council’s website and displays on mobile devices, are the best ways to prepare.

“When natural disasters hit our region, you will have all the information you need in the palm of your hand.

“In combination with MoretonAlert, this will help you stay up-to-date and safe when natural disasters hit.

“The Disaster Dashboard delivers real-time information including warnings, evacuation alerts and relevant weather updates as the event unfolds.