Survey To Plan For Disasters

Newcastle Herald

Saturday October 27, 2007

By GABRIEL WINGATE-PEARSE

A SURVEY of Hunter residents affected by the June long weekend storms reveals that more than one in five had their electricity cut for more than 48 hours, while one in 10 had their phone lines cut for 48 hours or more.

Of the 227 households surveyed in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, almost one in five said floodwater entered their house, and almost 3 per cent had to leave their houses.

Nine per cent had car damage, and 1.6 per cent experienced a storm-related injury, most of which were minor.

Hunter New England Population Health unit conducted the survey to help plan for disasters and pandemics.

As well as assessing who was affected and how, it assessed the community's level of preparedness, and where or how they gained information during the storm.

It found that 30 per cent of respondents received assistance of some kind, 4 per cent from the State Emergency Service.

Of the 48 per cent who were aware of the storm warning the day before, 41 per cent took some action, such as shutting windows, cancelling travel plans, or securing items in the backyard.

The most sought-after information was storm damage and weather reports (51.6 per cent), road closure details (41.7 per cent), and information about the restoration of electricity and other services (22.5 per cent).

While most households had a torch, only 42 per cent of households had a battery-operated radio and batteries available.

Little more than a third had enough drinking water for three days in case of an interruption to fresh water supplies.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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