Coping with natural disasters is never easy and can be especially tough for elderly residents.
To help seniors in our shire stay safe during the worst of mother nature, Noosa Council's Disaster Management Team delivered its annual Aged Care Disaster Resilience Workshop on 3 February.
Now in its fourth year, the workshop was attended by 60 of Noosa's aged care facility managers and emergency services representatives.
"In partnership with Primary Health Network commissioning organisation, Country to Coast, we focussed on a cyclone scenario to provide those working in local aged care centres with a better understanding of how to handle such an event," Noosa Council Disaster and Disruption Resilience Officer, Ian Williams said.
The workshop highlighted the need for detailed facility plans and the importance of each centre being fully prepared to handle a cyclone event in their facility or to prepare for evacuations.
The tips and tools were especially useful for Noosa Care, which operates aged care facilities in Tewantin (Carramar) and Cooroy (Kabara).
"This Disaster Resilience workshop was incredibly informative and is critical to developing a resilient and connected aged care sector in Noosa," Noosa Care CEO Grant Simpson said.
"The cyclone scenario enabled all of us to plan for impacts on our local centres and how to best deal with these situations and possible evacuation procedures and put them into our own evacuation plans.
"One of the great tools Council provides all of us is the Noosa Emergency Action Guide. I know our residents and many other local aged care facilities have copies so we can be more prepared," Mr Simpson said.
In addition to supporting our seniors, Council is also helping to educate our youngest community members. Held in partnership with local emergency services, the Get Ready Schools program continues its visits to more than 2,500 Year 5 students across local schools during storm season.
Each student takes home their own Get Ready Noosa emergency information pack to build early awareness and resilience. To collect a pack for your household, visit Noosa Council Customer Service at Tewantin.
As the warmer months continue, Council reminds everyone to check out the Noosa Disaster Dashboard for vital information on how to be prepared for any unexpected weather event. A digital version of the Noosa Emergency Action Guide is also available on the dashboard.
