Natural disaster preparedness in the Clarence Valley

Research commissioned by Clarence Valley Council has found residents across the LGA are most prepared for severe storms and least prepared for floods.
According to the research, Clarence Valley residents:

• are most concerned about the impact of a severe storm (41%), compared with a bushfire (32%), heatwave (30%) or flood (26%).
• feel prepared for extreme weather events including severe storms (74%), bushfire (72%) and flood (63%).
• have taken action in the past two years to prepare for a severe storm (46%), bushfire (58%) and flood (20%).
• Clarence Valley Council’s Acting General Manager Laura Black said the results showed a prepared and resilient Clarence Valley community.

“Natural hazards and emergencies are a fact of life in the Clarence Valley, and these results show that overall, our community is prepared and resilient,” Ms Black said.

“We know the frequency of severe weather events is increasing, so preparation and planning is absolutely key.

Advertisements

“It’s great to see so many in our community taking action to prepare themselves and their homes, including taking the time to understand their risk, create a home emergency kit, check their insurance coverage and think through an evacuation plan.”

Now is a great time to prepare your household ahead of the next severe weather season.

“The research shows that residents living outside our major towns are more prepared for events like bushfires and storms, which is good news and to be expected,” Ms Black said.

“However, we’re urging everyone to take the time to understand how different weather events might impact you directly and indirectly. For example, how might potential disruptions to essential services, emotional distress, or a need to evacuate impact you or those you care about?

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year it’s how important it is to plan and prepare for the unexpected.”

Clarence Valley Council commissioned Jetty Research to conduct a representative and statistically valid telephone survey of 402 adult residents across the LGA to measure community resilience and preparedness in late 2020.