Residents urged to prepare for emergencies with app

A new app will help residents in Greater Western Sydney mitigate risk in the event of emergency. The Get Prepared app, co-created by the Australian Red Cross and insurer NRMA, enables residents to:

• establish a quick and easy network of support with three key contacts
• review the risks relevant to where they live
• create checklists of actions to make an emergency plan
• save the emergency plan as a PDF file to be printed and shared with others.
   

It’s being recommended for download by the body representing councils in Greater Western Sydney, an area that has been impacted in recent years by extreme weather events, including floods and fires, and record heat. The region stretches over 8948 km², ranging from densely populated metropolitan areas, to farmlands and the World Heritage area of the Blue Mountains. It is typically six to 10 degrees hotter than the rest of Sydney during heat events.

“Extreme weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened challenges for Greater Western Sydney communities, as the recent terrible floods and bushfires have shown,” said President of Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WRSOC) Councillor Barry Calvert.

“During severe heatwaves, too, people in Greater Sydney have experienced as much as a 13% increase in mortality (excess deaths), according to NSW Health research.

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in an emergency like a bushfire or a flood. Emergencies can strike at any time, anywhere and without warning.The good news is, it’s easy to protect yourself, the people you love and the things you value most in such an emergency. Research shows that the more people prepare for a disaster, the faster they recover.”

Calvert said residents should take control now by downloading the app.

“The app helps you prepare for the unexpected and be better prepared for emergencies by completing an emergency plan. The ‘Get Prepared’ app is a free and easy-to-use one-stop tool to help you prepare for any type of emergency,” he said.

The ‘Get Prepared’ app is available on the Red Cross website: https://www.redcross.org.au/prepare/.

Top image caption: 2020 bushfires on Bells Line of Road. Image credit: Hawkesbury City Council