Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today visited the new $8.5 million Townsville Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC) – opening its doors in time for this year's cyclone season.
The Premier was also joined by Member for Townsville Scott Stewart and Member for Mundingburra Coralee O'Rourke at the new state-of-the-art centre on Dalrymple Road.
"Queensland is no stranger to natural disasters including cyclones, floods and droughts. We've also seen recently prolonged heatwave conditions which contributed to the worst bushfire emergency to impact our state," the Premier said.
"While bushfires were burning across the State, at the same time we were also faced with Cyclone Owen as it formed off the north coast.
"It's disasters such as this that make LDCCs so important.
"This building is now one of the toughest in North Queensland and rated to withstand a Category 5 Cyclone."
Cr Hill said the project has helped boost the local economy by supporting hundreds of local jobs.
"The project supported more than 250 jobs during its construction which is great for our local economy," Cr Hill said.
Cr Hill said the LDCC will be the home of disaster response for future major weather events.
"This state-of-the-art facility will provide all agencies needed to manage a disaster with the space they need when the next major event hits," Cr hill said.
"This has been a great collaboration between all levels of Government to ensure the best possible outcome for the community when a disaster hits."
Cr Hill said the LDCC is rated to withstand a Category 5 Cyclone and is one of the toughest buildings in North Queensland.
"The LDCC is built with 54 tonnes of reinforced steel and almost 650 cubic metres of concrete – making it able to withstand winds of over 300 kilometers an hour," Cr Hill said.
"We will be able to keep residents informed with updates during an event because of the up-to-date backup power and water supplies, allowing the centre to be self-sufficient in any emergency."
Townsville City Council received $1.98 million in funding from the joint Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Resilience Program.
The LDCC building will also accommodate the North Queensland Regional Data Centre on the ground floor.
