Council works with emergency services and other agencies to help prevent, plan for, deal with and recover from all types of emergencies including bush fire, flood, storm, tsunami, extreme heat and more recently public health pandemics.

 

Prevent and Prepare for Disaster

To prevent and prepare for emergencies we:

  • act as the Chair of the Local Emergency Management Committee and coordinate a communication network with emergency response agencies
  • manage the review and update of the Local Emergency Management Plan (EMPLAN) and additional sub plans for our local area
  • reduce natural disaster risks such as bush fire, storm and flood risk across the local area and disseminate emergency management information to the public
  • facilitate community recovery planning and implementation
  • support the development of resilience within the community.

 

During a Disaster

We are required to appoint a Local Emergency Management Officer (LEMO), who in the event of an emergency in Sutherland Shire Local Government Area will act as the coordinator and work alongside emergency services such as NSW Police, NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire & Rescue NSW, NSW State Emergency Service, and NSW Health.

During an emergency Council may:

  • support emergency services as needed
  • send out crews to help with road closures, fallen trees, or make areas safe
  • listen to our community and provide support
  • assist emergency services to keep the community well informed.

 

Recovery from a Disaster

What we do after an emergency is different in each situation. Things we may do to help the community recover from an emergency event include:

  • organising clean-ups and repairs to public assets and areas
  • extra services or advice to help the community recover
  • communicate any government support available to people affected by the emergency
  • work with local emergency groups to look at ways we could handle emergencies better in future 
  • lobby government on behalf of our community.