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

The Cyclone Debbie Review

Inspector-General Emergency Management

Foreword

In conducting this review we fully expected to be told of differing viewpoints, opinions and perceptions, and to be given robust feedback on the performance (whether perceived or real) of some aspects within the system. We have approached this from a viewpoint of delivering an outcome that has the community at the centre of our considerations, uninfluenced by political, professional or personal consideration, recognising that within such high stress environments, with everyone focused on doing the right thing, there are bound to previously identified issues, particularly in the area of communications had improved and generally noted the commitment and dedication of all in seeking to deliver quality outcomes and value. While we expect our emergency services and major operational departments to be well prepared to respond in numbers and in a coordinated fashion, which was evident, other departments are often less rehearsed at large scale deployments. In response to Debbie we noted the effort of, and collaboration between, Regional Hospital and Health Services and Queensland Health in order to ensure core service delivery to the Mackay area in particular. Queensland Health’s approach to capturing learnings from the event and sharing them across all HHS’s and the Department is also to be commended. Also commendable is the approach to debriefing adopted by Burdekin Local Disaster Management Group. This approach actively focused on identifying and documenting those things the group wanted to be able to repeat and areas it wanted to improve, specifically looking to produce guidance for members on what needs to be done in the first 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after an event. be issues and differences arise. We were pleased that a number of

A notable observation has been the difference in community knowledge, perception and preparedness between the north of the state and the south east. Although we had heard in the past from North Queensland that its communities “knew” cyclones, the community survey provided evidence to support the suggestion that those who lived in areas that regularly experience these events were in fact better prepared. Whether this is due to experience, community education campaigns or simple folklore is less clear. It does however reinforce that those with responsibilities for less-aware communities should do more to lessen the knowledge void. While every review will identify opportunities for improvement, it has been pleasing to see how proactive disaster management groups and others have been in honestly and thoroughly appraising their efforts and identifying these opportunities. Equally important to not focus only on these, there are many excellent examples of cooperation and ingenuity identified in responding to this event. These too need to be shared so others can adopt them and improve outcomes. The clear takeaway from this work is that the disaster management system in Queensland is well constructed, experienced and practiced. Communities can have confidence that, at all levels, Government and all supporting entities are focused on delivering value and have the community as the centre of thinking.

Iain S Mackenzie Inspector-General Emergency Management

7

0 FOREWORD

Inspector-General Emergency Management