FLOOD WARNINGVersion No: 03

COUNCIL POLICY

FLOOD WARNING / Doc. No. / CPL275.1
Approval Date: / 10 June 2014
Approved By: / Council
Review Date: / 10 June 2017
Responsible Officer: / Version No: / 03
General Manager City Services
Authorising Officer: / Chief Executive Officer
  1. PURPOSE

To provide advice and guidance for the Flood Warning Officer or nominee regarding the issue of flood warnings for the City of Greater Geelong.

  1. SCOPE

This policy covers all minor to major flood events on rivers, creeks, streams and watercourses within the municipality.

  1. REFERENCES
  • Flood Warning Manual (Sub Plan No 15) – Instructions and information for Flood Warning Officer – City of Greater Geelong 2014.
  • Municipal Emergency Management Plan – City of Greater Geelong2013.
  • Municipal Emergency Management Sub-plan No. 1, Flood Management – City of Greater Geelong.
  • Bureau of Meteorology (and other web sites) accessing weather data.
  • Emergency Management Manual Victoria – 2013.
  1. DEFINITIONS
  • Municipal Emergency Resource Officer – the appointed Council Officer responsible for management, preparation planning and response to emergency situations.
  • Flood Warning Officer – the appointed Council Officer responsible for the collation and evaluation of predictive flood related information and dissemination of flood warnings and information both within Council and for the Council owned / managed properties.
  1. COUNCIL POLICY
  2. General
  • The Council of the City of Greater Geelong shall provide sufficient resources to implement an effective Flood Warning System.
  • At all times during a flood event, Council in conjunction with the Police and the Control Agency will endeavour to disseminate accurate, timely and relevant flood related information to the affected communities and the public in general.
  • The City of Greater Geelong Flood Warning arrangements shall be capable of being mobilised at any time and any day of the year.

5.2.Appointment of Flood Warning Officer

  • The Municipal Emergency Resource Officer (MERO), in consultation with the members of the Municipal Emergency Planning Committee shall appoint a suitable Officer to undertake the role as Flood Warning Officer (F.W.O).
  • The Flood Warning Officer shall be provided with sufficient resources and training to enable an effective flood Warning System to be put in place.
  • At times when the Flood Warning Officer is away from the municipality a suitably trained Deputy Flood Warning Officer shall be appointed to undertake the role of Flood Warning Officer.
  • Flood Warnings
  • The F.W.O. shall access all relevant information, including but not limited to, Bureau of Meteorology (B.O.M.) flood warnings, locally supplied information and observed information. This information shall be collated at the earliest possible time during the flood event.
  • Given all the information at hand, the F.W.O. shall then assess the magnitude and extent of the impending flood. As soon as possible, this assessment shall be conveyed to Council’s Municipal Emergency Manager, the MERO and the Municipal Recovery Manager
  • This prediction along with information from the Control Agency shall then form the basis of the warning to be disseminated.
  • Dissemination of Flood Warning
  • The F.W.O. shall determine, in conjunction with the Control Agency the most appropriate means for dissemination of the flood warning, given the magnitude of the particular event.
  • The highest priority will be given to the community most likely to be affected.
  • Consideration will also be given to providing flood related information to the greater Geelong community.
  • The Control Agency may utilise all or any combination of ABC 774 Radio, B.O.M. website, telephone, fax or site visitation, to alert the affected community
  • Follow up warnings will be provided during the course of the flood event, where resources are available.
  • Follow up
  • The F.W.O. in conjunction with the M.E.R.O. and Control Agency shall evaluate all matters and information relating to the issue of flood warnings for an event. Any data and reports shall be permanently recorded for future reference.
  • Continuous Improvement
  • The Council through its appointed officers shall strive to continuously improve the Flood Warning System for the City of Greater Geelong.
  • Trends, experiences, Agency information both in Australia and overseas shall be used in this continuous improvement program.

5.7.System Management Responsibilities of the Flood Warning Officer

  • Management of all council flood warning systems including:
  • Hovells Creek Flood Warning System
  • Moolap Industrial Flood Warning System
  • Updating the FWO’s Flood Warning Manual
  • Emergency Alert System via mobile phone and text
  1. QUALITY RECORDS

Quality Records shall be retained for at least the period shown below.

Record / Retention/Disposal Responsibility / Retention Period / Location
General flood warning information relating to flood levels / F.W.O. / 5 Years / Corporate Records
Post flood reports and predictive information / F.W.O. / Permanent / Corporate Records
  1. ATTACHMENTS
  • Nil