Local NSW State Emergency Service (SES) units have moved to the Australian Warning System for flood and tsunami warnings from today.
The Australian Warning System is a national three-tiered warning framework which will cover all emergency services organisations and all hazards to make warnings clearer and easier to understand.
The warning system is:
- Advice – an incident has started. Stay up to date in case the situation changes.
- Stay informed
- Monitor conditions
- Reduced threat: return with caution
- Watch and Act – conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
- Do not enter floodwater
- Prepare to evacuate
- Prepare to isolate
- Avoid the area
- Emergency Warning – the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately.
- Evacuate now / Evacuate before [time]
- Shelter now
- Move to higher ground
NSW SES Northern Zone Commander Andrew Cribb said the new approach to warnings allows NSW SES volunteers across the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast of NSW a more efficient and effective way to support communities by providing them with greater clarity.
“Early warnings save lives. Our new warnings contain very clear action statements encouraging the community to make safe decisions in timely manners,” Chief Superintendent Cribb said.
“If you live in a community that has received flood warnings in the past, it is important to learn how the NSW SES warnings will influence your decision, and to take time now to prepare for what action you will take when a future disaster strikes.”
The NSW SES’s new tiers of warning will provide greater consistency as all states and territories gradually transition to the Australian Warning System.
For more information on NSW SES visit www.ses.nsw.gov.au
For emergency assistance in floods and storms call NSW SES on 132 500