IGEM Report 1: 2017-18 - THE CYCLONE DEBBIE REVIEW

Inspector-General Emergency Management

In the Scenic Rim road equipment was repositioned to respond to any emergent road damage, while in Bundaberg district group liaison staff were pre-deployed into North Burnett council to ensure ongoing linkage should the area become inaccessible. Resources were also deployed to pre-established community response groups in the Fraser Coast and Gold Coast hinterland, enabling self-sufficiency in case of isolation. These early preparations were identified by some councils as key to ensuring they were well prepared should the local group move to stand up. We are pleased to see that these activities are lessons really learned; they represent sustained and continuous improvement. On the morning of Thursday 30 March Debbie was tracking south east of Emerald and projected to reach the south east corner of Queensland by Thursday afternoon with the heaviest falls in Brisbane expected in the evening. 46 In the southeastern quarter of the state widespread daily rainfall totals of 200mm were expected.

Significant isolated falls in excess of 400mm were also predicted for South East Queensland, bringing a high risk of flooding across the region. 47 Damaging winds and torrential rainfall were already occurring from Central Queensland to the New South Wales border and flood watches across coastal catchments. By 6.00am on Thursday 30 March all district groups from Brisbane to Bundaberg were on “alert”and by that afternoon all district and local disaster management groups in the South East had been activated, with nine local groups and three district groups at “stand up. ” 48 The event they were anticipating, though, differed from local group to local group. As outlined later in the discussion on information management, varying information sources and data, compounded

The three concurrent events

by the pressure of timing, made the decision-making process even more complex.

Overview of South East Queensland local and district disaster management group activations focusing on the period from 29 March in more detail. Data sourced from SDCC, local and district disaster management group reports and interviews

Wednesday 29 March Thursday 30 March 12 mn 5am Noon 5pm 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am Noon 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm

Bundaberg North Burnett Fraser Coast Gympie South Burnett Noosa Sunshine Coast Somerset Moreton Bay Gold Coast Scenic Rim Ipswich Lockyer Valley Toowoomba Southern Downs Bundaberg Maryborough Gympie Sunshine Coast Brisbane Redland Logan

LDMG

Redcliffe Brisbane Logan Gold Coast Ipswich Toowoomba Warwick

DDMG

56

The Cyclone Debbie Review

Lessons for delivering value and confidence through trust and empowerment