A public safety campaign launched in the Hawkesbury-Nepean today seeks to increase community awareness about flood risk in the valley.
Laura Wythes, NSW SES Zone Commander for Sydney Metro, said the new campaign was a vital part of increasing community awareness of flooding in the region.
“The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley has the highest flood exposure in NSW, if not Australia. Over 130,000 people currently live in the valley, and many are not aware they live on a floodplain,” Commander Wythes said.
“We may be in drought now, but there is a history of flooding in the valley and floods can happen at any time,” she said.
Commander Wythes said that the first step to get ready for floods is to know and understand your flood risk. This campaign provides new tools and resources to understand flooding within the Hawkesbury Nepean valley.
“We know from many decades of experience that floods in this valley can be both damaging and dangerous, but recent research shows that less than 20 percent of residents know there is a high risk of flooding. The community needs to know their flood risk as they have an important role to play in getting ready for future floods,” she said.
Commander Wythes said a new interactive mapping tool released as part of the campaign provides easy to understand flood risk information for every suburb in the floodplain.
The new public safety campaign is running from September to November 2019, and includes local, digital and outdoor advertising, direct mail and representation at local events across the region.
“While the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley has been spared from flooding in recent years, it has flooded before and it will flood again,” Commander Wythes said.
“And just as we prepare for storms and bushfires in this region, we need to prepare for floods.”
People who live and work in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley are encouraged to check their Flood Risk now.
