Disaster Plans and Resources

6.1. Role of Fraser Coast Regional Council

The Fraser Coast Regional Council and the Local Disaster Management Group play a primary role to build resilience to disasters.  The role involves ensuring exposure to hazards is reduced through suitable land use planning, maintaining the natural environment and building community understanding of all hazards and risks.  Fraser Coast Regional Council promotes the use of their Disaster Dashboard for use by the community to obtain up to date and useful disaster information.

6.2. Role of Business and Individuals

Businesses within the Fraser Coast area have an individual responsibility to know what their exposure to disasters events could be and that they have business continuity plans, insurances and plans to evacuate their facilities if necessary.

Every person needs to be proactive in building resilience by knowing their risks, understanding their vulnerability and having a plan to follow if a disaster event threatens their area.

Personal resilience will contribute to building community resilience. 

The Fraser Coast Regional Council and the LDMG have actively moved towards these goals of having business and industry making their own preparations and individuals taking responsibility for their own safety.

6.3. Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change predictions indicate that the Fraser Coast Region may experience more frequent heatwaves, more frequent storm tide events, increased likelihood of wildfires and more intense periods of heavy rains and severe storms. 

The Fraser Coast Regional Council acknowledges and plans for:

• Risk reduction initiatives informed by current evidence.
• Local engagement with the community to inform them of adaptation to climate change.
• A shared responsibility with the community to develop capacity to adapt to climate change.

Prevention

7.1. Hazard Mitigation

The Fraser Coast LDMG uses various methods and systems to engage the community for taking action in advance of or after a disaster event.

Community awareness and education programs conducted by the Fraser Coast LDMG remind people that the threats are real, and to identify what they can do to limit the impact of disaster events.

The objective of these mitigation activities is reduced risk and vulnerability through initiatives to enhance community resilience and sustainability.

7.2. Land use management initiatives (planning)

Fraser Coast Regional Council adopted a new town plan in 2014 (undertaken under the Sustainable Panning Act 2009) that covers among other items, building within disaster prone areas.  The Council website contains the complete plan and interactive overlays.

7.3. Flood Studies

The Fraser Coast Regional Council has undertaken a number of flood studies in an effort to assist with identifying risk reduction for flooding.

These include:

• Mary River Flood Study
• Maryborough Flood Study
• Tiaro Flood Study
• Glenwood Flood Study
• Aldershot Flood Study
• Howard and Pacific Haven Flood study
• Other studies include:
• Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy
• Mary River Resilience Pilot
• Pacific Haven catchment study

7.4. Risk Reduction Strategies

The Fraser Coast LDMG risk reduction strategies have been detailed and drawn together to form

the basis for a Disaster Risk Assessment (QERMF). 

This Assessment lists the strategies and the agencies that should be involved in their implementation and a priority for their implementation is suggested.

8.8 Training compliance

The Manager of Disaster Planning will liaise with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to conduct training in accordance with the Disaster Management Training Framework to ensure LDMG members are sufficiently trained to carry out their roles.

8.9 Exercises

Exercises are conducted by the LDMG and member agencies to enhance capacity and contribute towards continuous improvement.

Section 59 of the Disaster Management Act 2003 requires that the effectiveness of an LDMP be reviewed at least once a year. The conduct of exercises is one mechanism the group may use to achieve this requirement.

Conducting the exercise

Each year the LDMG will conduct one or more exercises that may be developed using the following styles:

• Discussion exercises (desktop exercises) can be used by participants to think through scenarios or plans, talk through issues and discuss possible solutions.
• Functional exercises are conducted in an operational environment with participants performing their individual role and functions. They may be used to practice or evaluate procedures, or decision making, or assess interaction of groups.
• Field exercises which involve the scalable mobilisation of personnel and/or resources to a simulated incident. They allow participants to be evaluated under a degree of operational stress in a controlled environment.

Exercise evaluation

An exercise is to be followed by a debrief process.  A hot debrief is conducted immediately following the conclusion of the exercise and a cold debrief conducted not longer than a month following the exercise.  The learning from the exercise is to be consolidated into a report for presenting to the LDMG core members.

8.10 Post Disaster Assessment

The review of operations can be conducted through two forms of debrief:

Debrief – A debrief undertaken immediately after operations are complete gives the participants the opportunity to share learning points while the experience is still very fresh in their minds. Multiple debriefs during protracted operations may be appropriate to identify significant issues and provide prompt solutions for immediate implementation; and

Post Disaster Assessment Reports – held days or weeks after an operation when participants have had an opportunity to take a considered view of the effectiveness of the operation.  A Post Disaster Assessment Report will be completed in partnership with QFES to provide an overview of the lesson identified following an event and importantly recommendations for improving management.

Post Disaster Assessment is to review:

• Disaster operations undertaken for a given disaster including actions, decisions or processes.
• Document those processes that worked well and identify a course of action to ensure that they are captured and updated in relevant doctrine for use in the next operation; and
• Assess capability and consider where additional training and/or exercises may enhance capability.

The review of operational activities undertaken during an event is a key component in ensuring capability development, the continuous improvement of disaster management arrangements.

Response

9.1 Overview

In accordance with s 4A of the Act, local governments are primarily responsible for responding to disaster events in their LGA with district and state levels providing appropriate resources and support.

Disaster response and disaster recovery are key components of disaster operations.

Disaster operations is defined in s 15 of the Act as those ‘activities undertaken before, during or after an event happens to help reduce loss of human life, illness or injury to humans, property loss or damage, or damage to the environment, including, for example, activities to mitigate the adverse effects of the event’.

Timely activation of the LDMG is critical for an effective response to a disaster event. The decision to activate depends on several factors including the perceived level of impact to the community.

9.2 Levels of Activation

9.3 Warning Notifications and Dissemination

LDMG members will receive warnings from multiple sources. 

• The DDC may receive notification directly from the State Disaster Coordination Centre (SDCC) or internally through Queensland Police Service Communication Centers and will ensure the dissemination of warnings to the Fraser Coast LDMG.
• Bureau of Meteorology, LDMG members, members of the public or Government agencies can notify the LDMG; and/or
• A number of agencies will receive warnings directly from the Bureau of Meteorology.

The process for the notification and dissemination of warnings is not a function dependant on the activation of the LDMG.  The warning process should be an automatic responsibility of LDMG core group and advisory members regardless of the status of activation of the LDMG.

9.4 Communications - Public information and warning notification and dissemination

The Communications plan identifies that public information and warnings given by the Local Disaster Management Group shall be provided mainly through broadcast media (radio and television). Other alerts or warning such as those delivered through the Disaster Dashboard, Social Media and the Internet, the use of SEWS (Standard Emergency Warning System) or the national Emergency Alert (EA) telephone and SMS messaging system will be used to support and reinforce the warning messages provided through broadcast media.

The Queensland Government and the Fraser Coast Regional Council customer service centres will also be used to support and emphasise the messages provided through broadcast media.

The Chair of the LDMG or nominated delegate, officer in charge of the lead agency, the DDC and the LDC shall be the key sources of information to the community regarding the status of the response to the emergency and any other associated threats or required community actions.  The role of the Local Group media liaison officer is to support these spokespersons and to ensure a coordinated and consistent message is broadcast to the community.

Council’s Disaster dashboard, social media pages and news feeds play an important role in the dissemination of public information, warnings and notifications. Management of key information will be delegated to the LDMG Media Communications Team.

9.5 Public Warning Systems

Disaster and emergency warnings need to be timely, consistent and succinct, so that people can take appropriate action.  To ensure that disaster warnings are coordinated and timely the Local Group has developed a public information and warning operations sub-plan.

This plan recognises that individuals are likely to hear about a potential disaster situation from a variety of sources and most will seek to confirm that message before they take any action.  Research indicates that if the emergency warning is not confirmed then it may be ignored.  Therefore, the frequency and timing of emergency warnings must be carefully considered.  So long as the information is consistent, emergency warning issued from two or more relevant agencies will help to confirm and reinforce the warning message.

9.6 Activation of this plan

• The plan may be activated either wholly or in part when the following occurs.
• There is a clear and present threat posed to the Fraser Coast Region
• When a significant coordinated response from multiple agencies may be required
• When a minor incident may have the potential to escalate
• When information provided by BOM, SDCC or DDC highlights a potential threat outside of business as usual (BAU) operations.
• When in a rapid onset event, the LDC and Chair agree to activate the group to support an agency.

9.7 Activation 

There may be occasions when the response to an event in the initial stages can take place without the activation of the LDMG and the LDCC.  When council is the lead agency the Council Operations Team may be established and activated and existing communication systems will allow discussions, planning, decision-making and taskings to occur.   Small scale contained events may be Business-as-Usual for the Fraser Coast Regional Council with the operation managed by existing internal procedures. 

This level of Council Operations Team response may move to the operation being coordinated from the LDCC, if and when the operational tempo increases, and multi-agency coordination is necessary.

Timely activation of the LDMG is critical for an effective large-scale response to an event. The decision to activate is dependent upon a number of factors including the perceived level of threat. Early activation of the LDMG and early establishment of the LDCC is essential for events that cannot be managed by the Council Operations Team, but the level of activation and staffing must be scalable commensurate with the event. 

The LDMG Chair and LDC are responsible for:

• Activation of the Local Disaster Management Group; and
• Activation of the Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC).

Recovery

The transition from response to recovery will be a carefully managed operation and carried out using the information contained in the Fraser Coast Local Recovery Sub Plan.

10.1. Local Recovery Group Chairperson

The role of the Local Recovery Group Chairperson, is to liaise with the chair of the LDMG on recovery related tasks, coordinate the required recovery elements and develop a Recovery Action Plan for the group.  

10.2. Local Recovery Coordinator (LRC)

The Fraser Coast Regional Council will appoint a Local Recovery Coordinator during the response phase of the event. The role of the Local Recovery Coordinator is to operationalise any recovery effort decided by the Local Recovery Group.

Stages of Recovery – Qld Recovery Plan

10.3. Fraser Coast Recovery Sub Plan

The Fraser Coast Recovery Sub Plan is activated by the LDMG during the response phase of the event and the provisions of relief are coordinated by the Local Recovery Chairperson.  The Fraser Coast Local Recovery Chairperson will establish recovery groups as necessary and manage the recovery process in accordance with the procedures detailed in the Local Recovery Sub Plan.

Discussions between the Chairperson of the LDMG, the Local Recovery Group Chairperson and the District Disaster Coordinator may result in the recovery processes being managed at District level for very large-scale disaster events.  Fraser Coast Regional Council will nominate representatives to the recovery groups that may be established at District level.

10.4. Local Recovery Groups

Local Recovery Groups may be established in different areas by the Local Recovery Chairperson dependent on the initial needs assessment and the anticipated recovery operations.  All recovery arrangements will be established in accordance with the procedures detailed in the Recovery Sub Plan.

The Local Recovery Groups that will be most suited to the Fraser Coast Regional Council area are Human/Social, Economic, Environmental and an Infrastructure which is a combination of the Building and Roads and Transport Groups.  The recovery group will have a QRA advisor on the group and a DRFA specialist from council.

10.5. Public Information

Regular dissemination of information to the community will be posted throughout the recovery process concerning the following:

• How to access assistance and support    programs
• Where Recovery Centres are located
• How to access recovery information online
• Councils Disaster Dashboard

10.6. Queensland Reconstruction Authority

The Fraser Coast LDMG will liaise closely with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) to ensure the effective and efficient coordination of recovery and reconstruction efforts following a disaster event. 

Discussions will be held with QRA regarding claims for State Disaster Relief Arrangements and Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA)

Full details of how the Fraser Coast LDMG will manage the recovery operations can be found in the Fraser Coast Local Recovery Sub Plan.