Bushfire Recovery Shoalhaven

The Recovery Newsletter - 27 September 2023 provides information, updates, and contacts for support available.

Council’s Recovery Outreach Team is here to support our community Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm ph. (02) 4429 5888. We are here to listen. Just talking to someone can make a difference.

Recovery services can also be accessed through Service NSW from 7am to 7pm every day on 13 77 88 or online at www.service.nsw.gov.au.

If you have feedback on what you would like to see included in a newsletter, please let us know by emailing bushfire.recovery@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au.

Community understanding, resilience and know-how has inspired the theme around Council’s new fire preparedness campaign - We Know.

We Know recognises the lived experience of so many in the community who endured the catastrophic fires of 2019 and 2020, and a nod to all those who played an active role in planning, preparedness and recovery during that time.

It is this first-hand experience that would hold the Shoalhaven in good stead as everyone prepares for the upcoming fire season. Communities across Australia are being urged for what is likely to be a terrible season of bushfires and we need to heed the warnings and prepare.

Although it can seem overwhelming when we are still recovering from the Currowan fires, it’s important to remember that the Shoalhaven has been tested before - we know the risk and what to do. We know what’s at stake, how real the devastation can be and what it takes to recover. We know how important it is to prepare emotionally and physically. A lot of work has been done as a community since the Currowan fires to build resilience and mitigate risk and this is a timely reminder to also do the small things to get bushfire ready - prepare yourself, your home and your business and stay up to date on conditions in your area.

The campaign draws on critical information from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Council resources such as green waste tipping and bushfire recovery.

We know a well prepared home is more likely to survive a bushfire and ember attack, so one of the first campaign actions is to encourage the community to clean up around their house.

Throughout September, Council is providing free garden waste disposal at all recycling and waste depots. People should clear their garden of potential fuel hazards by clearing gutters, trimming overhanging branches and cleaning up fallen branches and debris.

Other ways to plan and prepare are featured on the We Know webpage.

It has certainly been a hot over the past few days. Here are some simple steps we can all take.

Importantly, we all need to consider how best to support those more vulnerable in our community.

NSW Health has many handy tips to keep us all more comfortable during the heat, visit NSW Health Beat the Heat

NSW Health advises

• People over the age of seventy-five are among those most at risk of heat-related illness during heatwaves. If you’re a carer for an elderly person, here are a few things you can do to prepare them for the heat:

Check the following:

1. the person has light, loose-fitting cotton clothing to wear.
2. they know who to call if they need help.
3. they have the contact details for their GP, care workers, carers and others who may be able to assist including family, friends, and neighbours.
4. they have a personal care plan for hot weather that may affect the use of medications or fluid intake.

Take some simple steps to prepare an elderly person’s home for the heat by:

1. Checking the fridge, freezer, fan and air-conditioner work properly and that the air-conditioner is set to cool.
2. Stocking up with food before hot weather arrives to reduce the need to go out.
3. Having cool packs available to put in the fridge to help cool down.
4. Having a small emergency kit in case of a power failure…. torch, batteries, a battery-operated radio and a first aid kit.
5. Check the home or room can be aired properly and safely (for example without the need to leave the front door wide open in an unsafe area).
6. If possible, add curtains with pale linings in rooms that get a lot of sunlight to help reflect the heat. Avoid dark reflective curtain linings and metal Venetian blinds as they take up heat and can make rooms hotter.

Service NSW Disaster Assistance Finder

Did you know that you can complete a simple online questionnaire with Service NSW to identify support that you or your buisness may be eligible for if you have suffered damage or loss from any of the three natural disaster events in the Shoalhaven, March, July and September 2022?

Visit https://disasterassistance.service.nsw.gov.au/

70 Rebates to help manage the cost of living

The NSW Government is helping reduce the cost of living with more than 70 rebates and vouchers…like to know more, try the online Service NSW Savings Finder

1. Click through 6 simple questions.
2. See a personalised list of savings.

Visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/campaign/savings-finder

You can contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 (7am to 7pm)

13YARN [Thirteen YARN] is the first National crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. We offer a confidential one-on-one yarning opportunity with a Lifeline-trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter who can provide crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

13YARN empowers our community with the opportunity to yarn without judgment and provides a culturally safe space to speak about their needs, worries or concerns.

If you, or someone you know, are feeling worried or no good, we encourage you to connect with 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter.

For more information, please visit the https://www.13yarn.org.au/ website.

Many communities lost access to power and communications during the 2019-20 bushfires, leaving them unable to connect with emergency services and stay informed to make safety decisions.

From this experience, the Shoalhaven City Council identified an opportunity to provide trusted and authoritative information from the Shoalhaven Integrated Emergency Management Centre (IEMC) to isolated communities to improve public safety during future emergencies.

The experience has highlighted shortcomings that needed to be addressed. There needs to be better communication with communities during a crisis, especially a community where the population can increase significantly during the tourism seasons.

With support from the Local Economic Recovery grants, funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments, Council is delivering critical infrastructure so that in future disasters, if power and communications are lost, community members can access important emergency information via their Local Information Hub.

The hubs will provide communications and energy technology at 19 Council-owned halls and community centres across the Shoalhaven, displaying accurate and up to date emergency information. Additionally, four Holiday Haven holiday parks will have information dashboards installed.

The dashboards are linked to the IEMC via satellite internet connection and powered via backup power from solar panels and batteries. This will ensure the Hubs are not reliant on mobile phone towers or the power grid.

In the Shoalhaven, the biggest cause of power disruption isn’t fire, it’s not flood, it’s wind taking out power lines. Whatever we could do to provide access to timely information had to be around a system that did not rely on mobile phone technology and did not rely around the grid.

This project is unique in that it provides uninterruptable power, but also uninterruptable communications, and they go hand in hand. It’s really revolutionary in being adaptable to this environment that we live in.

Using the talent, services and infrastructure from within the region, the project makes use of commercially available technology, fitted and installed by local providers.

Callala Bay Community Hall has been the pilot site for the communications and power upgrade, with installation of a Voice over IP satellite phone connection, live screen with satellite connection, communications rack, satellite modem, solar panels, battery pack and new power board.

It has been a true collaboration with the local Callala Bay community, thanks to direct representative involvement, providing advice and preferences on installation and operation.

Callala Community Centre President James Morris has enjoyed setting his community up for success, highlighting that it was an exercise of cooperation between the Council, local business and providers, all contributing ideas , to work together to come up with an outcome.

In preparing the Callala community for future disasters, in future, decisions will now be made on knowledge, rather than on guess work.

The local information hubs are part of a broader Recovery into Resilience Project (RRP) that will provide a coordinated approach to improving the resilience of the Shoalhaven Community, via three programs which involve short and long-term approaches, as detailed below.

Although we can’t stop the future happening, we can certainly be more prepared to meet it.

The recovery journey is a complex one with many challenges. We have seen and continue to see extraordinary efforts within our communities to support each other and we continue to see compassion and kindness.

Do you:

• Still have tough days and feel the impact from the 2019/2020 bushfires?
• Experience anxiety, feel overwhelmed and struggle to plan ahead?
• Find the rebuilding process difficult to navigate and would like some support?
• Need general practical support?

Council’s Recovery Outreach Team are here to listen, help and provide that practical advice together with referrals.

If referrals are needed, we can draw on a strong network of support from Federal, State Governments, Not for Profit Organisations, and agencies/providers.

Please call 1300 293 111 or email communityconnections@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au