Port Macquarie-Hastings Council takes emergency planning sessions to communities

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (PMHC) will engage a number of our outer-lying suburbs and villages - starting with Pappinbarra - to talk through how to plan and respond during times of emergencies.

The online session will focus on informing communities about how to prepare for future emergencies, and empower them to create their own Community Emergency Response Plan (CERP).

Related content: One year on from the Port Macquarie-Hastings 2021 flood

The CERPs will be tailored and targeted to suit each individual community, and will enable locals to plan prior to, and respond during, an emergency.

The initiative was developed by council's Community Recovery team following a review of recent natural disaster events which significantly impacted our LGA.

PMHC group manager Community, Lucilla Marshall, said council understands that there is a real need to keep communities connected, and appropriately resourced, to act and respond during emergencies.

"There has been significant impacts to our communities in recent years, and council acknowledges just how difficult it has been for us all," Ms Marshall said.

"Through these online sessions, we will be reaching out to residents to guide them through how to best plan and prepare for future emergency scenarios, should they arise.

"The objective is to provide communities with an overview of our flood recovery works, our role in supporting local communities, and resources to enable community members to develop their own CERP.

"The CERP will allow communities to agree to, and act on, a certain set of guidelines that will enable them to be better resourced with responding to emergencies."

Ms Marshall also said that emergency training, which will be a key discussion point of the information sessions, will also be provided to community groups later this year.

To register your interest to attend one of the online information sessions visit https://haveyoursay.pmhc.nsw.gov.au/community-emergency-response-plans.

Information sessions start at 5.30pm and run for one hour each. The full list of locations is below.

March, 2022

April, 2022

May

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