Prevention
Disaster Mitigation
Although most disasters can’t be prevented, knowing the hazards and risks, learning from past events, and implementing mitigation measures can help minimise future impacts.
Council plays a major role in disaster mitigation activities, including:
- Road network upgrades (bridges, culverts, road sealing)
- Drainage works (creek clearing, upgrading infrastructure, non-return valves in low-lying coastal areas)
- Water and sewerage network improvements and redundancy options
- Foreshore protection activities (rock walls, erosion prevention)
- Installing more disaster resilient infrastructure in lower risk locations
- Educating the community about preparedness activities
Sever Thunderstorm/ Sever Weather Event
What is it?
Severe thunderstorm and severe weather warnings are issued by the Bureau of Meteorology. In active months, especially November to April, many of these warnings are issued for parts of the Flinders Shire area, often multiple times each day. Severe thunderstorms and severe weather rarely lead to the activation of the Flinders Disaster Management Group. Although these events can be dangerous, and it is important that the community is warned and aware of the risks and take the necessary precautions, they rarely result in a large-scale disaster event that requires a significant coordinated response and recovery effort.
What are the local risks?
Severe Thunderstorms
While the Flinders Shire Region experiences many thunderstorms, more intense thunderstorms are referred to as severe thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms can cause significant localised damage due to damaging wind gusts, large hail, tornadoes and flash flooding.
The Bureau of Meteorology issues Severe Thunderstorm Warnings to alert communities of the threat of these more dangerous thunderstorms.
Severe Weather
Severe weather warnings are provided for potentially hazardous or dangerous weather that is not solely related to severe thunderstorms, tropical cyclones or bushfires.
The Bureau of Meteorology issues severe weather warnings whenever severe weather is occurring in an area or is expected to develop or move into an area. The warnings describe the area under threat and the expected hazards. Warnings are issued with varying lead-times, depending on the weather situation, and range from just an hour or two up to about 24 hours.
Useful Links
Flood
What is it?
A flood occurs as a result of excess rainfall in a river, creek or storm water drainage catchment that exceeds the ability of the catchment to contain the rainfall in the natural or man-made water flow paths. Flooding can be minor such as road inundation, or moderate to major when houses become inundated or areas evacuated.
What are the local risks?
Some parts of The Flinders Shire Region has a high risk of being impacted by flooding primarily during the wet season which officially runs from 1 November to 30 April. Flooding may or may not be associated with cyclones or severe weather events and can occur at any time of the year.
Councils Natural Disaster Risk Management Report advises that flooding in the Flinders Shire Council Region can result from one or more of the following, which may occur in combination:
- Flooding in the catchments of the Upper Flinders River, this Starts at White Mountains and flows into Glendower then Glenmoan all running downstream of the Flinders River.
- Flash flooding following intense short period rainfall in smaller catchments such as Station Creek and Skull Creek, which creates localised flooding and running into the Flinders River upper catchment.
- In the case of flooding associated with tropical cyclones, flooding of low-lying areas on the north side of the Flinders River can happen when the Flinders River is at capacity and eventually breaks it banks behind the Hughenden Golf Club.
Useful Links
Dashboard - Flinders Shire Council
State Government QLD Roads website