Individual Responsibility

When a disaster strikes a community, the time taken for that community to recover is directly related to the degree to which the community has prepared itself prior to the event.

Every individual can make a contribution to that level of preparedness.

What you can do?

With the ever-present threat of flooding and earthquake, as well as other threats to our community, we should all be prepared for the likely effects these events will have.  The potential effects are loss of essential services and utilities, ie. water, sewerage, electricity, telephones and electronic purchasing systems, and damage to our transport system. 

Under such circumstances residents may be required to look after themselves for a considerable period of time.  Civil Defence suggests they plan to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours.

Points to consider include:

• Water
• Food
• Cooking facilities
• Toilet facilities/personal hygiene items
• Emergency lighting and cooking
• Emergency clothing
• First aid kit
• Special supplies for those with disabilities
• Special supplies for babies
• Special supplies for pets
• Emergency radio (and spare batteries)
• Important documents

Water:  An average adult will use approximately three litres of water per day for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.  Water can be stored safely for up to six months.  Boil it first, allow to cool, then store in large plastic soft drink bottles.  Date the bottles and check every few months. If it is not still clear when checked it should be replaced. 

Food:  Emergency food should be non-perishable, ie. tinned or dehydrated. If using dehydrated food, allowance must be made for extra water to reconstitute it.  Don't forget a can opener. 

Cooking facilities:  Most families have a barbecue which can be used for cooking in an emergency.

Toilet facilities:  For a toilet, get a bin liner, rubbish bin, toilet seat (or a couple of planks), bleach, telephone directory and spade.  Put the liner into the bin, add bleach, and put the toilet seat (or planks) on top.  Use pages from phone book, or newspapers, as toilet paper.  When bag is full it can be tied off and stored until services are restored. 

Emergency lighting:  Candles, matches and torches with spare bulb and batteries should be kept on hand. 

Emergency clothing:  If it is necessary to leave home you may need warm and waterproof clothing, including sturdy footwear.  

First aid kit: Size depends on size of family. 

Special supplies:  These could include special medication, babies needs (nappies, food etc.), pet food, and even a spare set of glasses or walking stick.  

Pet supplies: During an emergency your pets will still be expecting food and other care. 

Emergency radio/batteries:  If the electricity has failed, this will enable you to listen to important messages broadcast over local radio stations.  Don’t forget most cars have a radio in them. 

Important documents:  If it is necessary to leave home you may want to consider taking such things as passport, driver's licence, birth certificates, wills, family photographs, insurance policies, credit cards, some cash and other important documents.

The first point of contact with Civil Defence for the public should be their local Sector Post.  Information on the location of all Sector Posts within our district can be found, along with other useful Civil Defence information, on the back page of the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory.

It is the responsibility of every citizen to be aware of, and be prepared for, all hazards the community may face.