Taking disaster support into ‘new era’

New disaster management building

The Gold Coast will be home to the most efficient disaster management centre in the southern hemisphere when its new facility opens next year.

“The existing facility has been the mainstay of our disaster management response for more than 30 years,” said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“A structural assessment of the building several years ago identified it would not withstand a Category 4 or 5 cyclonic event. Building for the future is critical as our city will reach a population of one million in the next decade.”

The Mayor joined Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon in overseeing the start of construction at Ashmore.

The project received $9.81 million from the Palaszczuk Government through its South East Queensland Community Stimulus program.

Environment Minister Scanlon said this week’s heavy rainfall demonstrated why the Gold Coast needs a fit-for-purpose disaster management hub.

“Having a dedicated, central location for our agencies to coordinate and respond to emergency situations in real-time is absolutely critical, especially when floods and fires can happen in a matter of minutes,” Minister Scanlon said.

“State government agencies and council already work closely to help our community during emergencies and it’s great we’ve been able to work closely on bringing this project forward.

“As this week has shown, our emergency services and council staff always go above and beyond to help the community. This is about supporting them.

“Importantly, as we continue that economic recovery from COVID-19, this project will also create 53 jobs for our local construction industry.”

Key features of the new facility include:

  • Elevated flood free site. 2,800sqm of floorspace
  • Constructed to withstand a category 5 cyclone
  • 7-day standalone resilience including backup power, technology, food and water
  • Smart integrated technology, audio visual and ICT
  • State of the art satellite connection; and
  • Within close proximity to partner agencies.

/Public Release. View in full here.