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| Councillor Cheryl Bromage |
IPSWICH'S head of infrastructure Councillor Cheryl Bromage says lessons from the 2011 flood and other recent natural disasters highlighted the need for specific disaster management plans for Ipswich's regional communities.
Cr Bromage said the city had never been better prepared for a natural disaster.
"As part of council's review of the Ipswich City Local Disaster Management Plan (LDMP), Local Area Plans will be created for communities that could become isolated from essential goods and services in the event of another flood," Cr Bromage said.
"Now that locations at risk have been identified, the next stage will be to prioritise the development of these plans.
"Evacuation routes and the location of emergency centres will be examined as part of this review."
Cr Bromage said council had been working to ensure the LDMP was user-friendly and aligned with best practice disaster planning principles.
She said the council was not the lead agency for events other than floods, but would work in tandem with other agencies during incidents such as bushfires.
Cr Bromage said the council had been working with the agencies such as the State Emergency Service, the Australian Red Cross and Emergency Management Queensland on these plans.
She said the 2011 flood had highlighted the need for further work to be undertaken in emergency management planning in Ipswich. "We have taken the opportunity to look at issues raised during the flood and further refine our plans for all types of emergencies," she said.
"Events which council has made preparations for include a severe thunderstorm or electrical storm, a critical infrastructure failure, an extreme high temperature event, a hazardous material accident, a major fire and prolonged drought.
"Council is committed to doing everything it can to ensure that adequate plans are in place."
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14.11.12
