Municipal-wide plan to deal with emergencies

Greater Geelong’s new Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) has been adopted by the Barwon South West Regional Emergency Management Planning Committee.

Last year, the multi-agency Greater Geelong Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee, which the City is a member of, carried out a full review and rewrite of the plan to ensure it is up-to-date and robust.

With a number of environmentally significant natural features and high-risk infrastructure in our municipality, the MEMP details the actions that need to be taken immediately before, during and after an emergency.

The plan clearly specifies the roles and responsibilities of agencies during emergencies, the importance of community information and warnings, impact assessments, sharing resources with other councils, debriefing and transitioning to recovery.

How to identify hazards and evaluate potential risks, financial considerations and ensuring support complements other local, regional and state planning emergency arrangements also feature.

Using the Community Emergency Risk Assessment (CERA) tool developed by VICSES, issues such as floods, bushfires and grassfires, extreme temperatures and essential services disruption are among the high risks identified for our region.

The Greater Geelong Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee works towards creating a safer community by identifying, analysing and assessing risks, and where appropriate, identifying treatment options and implementing relevant plans.

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