Guidance

Monitor conditions and telecommunications during periods of severe weather. Change your response to the conditions.

Keep track of what is going on in your area.

Use AM/FM radio in addition to any electronic media such as mobile phones. Infrastructure may be damaged or destroyed and you may miss visual cues to leave or stay.

Maintain visual inspections of the surrounds and be alert for any changes.

Monitor conditions every 30 minutes.

Guidance

If a building is in a flood risk location, preparation can accelerate the speed of recovery.

In preparation, remove or transfer items off site, which are vulnerable to water or wind, before flood waters arrive.

Sandbag points of entry to the building and/or around the perimeter.

You can use waterproof tarpaulins around points of entry to reduce water penetration.

If flood waters are approaching, share your location visibility. Create a location safety plan in Core Lite and share it with contacts. This way your location will be visible to others.

If you can access your vehicle, get out your emergency ‘go bag’ to assist with the unplanned event. Ensure you have a high visibility signal panel, that can be detected by aircraft.

Don’t travel at the last minute. Floods conceal the roadway, or damage infrastructure, or rise at a rate greater than expected, exposing you to serious risk of harm.

For your building, if no preparation have been made, assess the viability of:

– Switching off the electrical supply if safe to do so and necessary. Consult with an experienced technician to find out how to do so safely.

– Switching off the gas supply, if supplied to the site. Consult with an experienced technician to find out how to do so safely. This way if a pipe is breached, gas and fire risk has been reduced.

Guidance

In flood prone areas, consider pre-purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) equipment. This will accelerate the recovery.

Obtain and store wet weather PPE including:

– High visibility jacket, pants

– Sturdy boots or gumboots

– Waterproof hat

– Waterproof LED torch

– Whistle. If rising water traps you, you have another attention option