Cyclone season and your caravan

WHILE the growing trend of being a grey nomad may be spurred by the lure of a worry-free lifestyle, the seasonal threat of cyclones could be a sure-fire way of adding a few more grey hairs for the unprepared.

For the rising numbers of retirees embracing life on the open road, travelling in a caravan or boat offers freedom, excitement and an escape from the rat race and the pressures of modern life. But if you are going to make a caravan or boat your home, or have done so already, emergency services are urging you to be prepared during the cyclone season.

Severe cyclones can cause injury and loss of life, as well as major structural damage to your new abode and disruption to electricity, gas and water supplies.

Defined as a low-pressure system that forms over warm tropical waters, cyclones are usually characterised by inward spiralling winds, rotating clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere. To be categorised as a cyclone, spiralling clouds need to reach speeds of more than 63km per hour – but severe cyclones can have wind gusts of up to 280km/h around a calm centre.  Just think how that kind of wind speed could affect your caravan, your boat – or your family.

Cyclone activity also produces strong onshore winds and flooding rains, which increase the threat of a storm surge, bringing a rapid rise in sea level that accompanies a cyclone as it moves ashore.

With an average of 13 cyclones reaching Australia every year, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority is urging grey nomads to have an emergency plan well before the cyclones form. Know what you will do with your caravan or boat and how to tie it down and decide where you will go for shelter.

Caravans and boats are particularly susceptible to wind damage and being blown over and should be tied down with the proper equipment or moved to a safe storage site before it is unsafe to travel. FESA regional director John Newman said it was vital people stayed indoors during a red alert until local authorities had the opportunity to make the area safe.

“Each season we commonly see people moving outside their homes before the all clear is given, which is dangerous to both the community and to the emergency services personnel trying to assess the damage,” he said.

“During a red alert, there is a threat to lives and properties, you are in danger and need to act immediately which means sheltering in the strongest, safest place or the closest welfare centre until the all clear is given.

“However, this message seems to fall on deaf ears as we continually encounter people outdoors and on the roads causing a danger to themselves and others. The sooner we can do the rounds and clear any dangers, the sooner the all clear can be given and people can get back to their business.”

People should be warned that they face fines of up to $50,000 if they fail to comply with a direction to stay indoors and off the roads during an emergency.

Being prepared means ensuring you have a portable, battery-operated radio and spare batteries, torches, a supply of tinned or dehydrated food for four days and at least three litres of water, per person, per day, for four days. You should also have emergency lighting, suitable clothing and footwear and a first-aid kit with essential medicines.

People who live in low-lying areas near the coast also need to plan where to go if they are advised to evacuate due to the threat of a storm surge.

During the cyclone season, further information is available from emergency services agencies and news bulletins.

Emergency Management Australia: www.ema.gov.au

Western Australia: Fire & Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA)
Cyclone action advice
Phone: 132 500 (see local phone directory for regional offices)

Northern Territory: Northern Territory Emergency Services (NTES)
Cyclone action guide
Phone: 131 444

Queensland: Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ)
Cyclone action advice
Phone: 132 500 (see local phone directory for regional offices)

New South Wales: State Emergency Service (SES)
Phone: 132 500 (see local phone directory for regional offices)

Updates are also available on the Bureau of Meteorology website at www.bom.gov.au and automated telephone messages will be left on the bureau’s cyclone warning advice lines:

Queensland: 1300 659 212
Northern Territory: 1300 659 211
Western Australia: 1300 659 210