Hawkesbury SES Commander Visits
Kevin Jones Unit Commander Hawkesbury SES spoke to residents at Riverside Gardens Retirement Village last week about the recent floods and assured residents that they were nowhere close to being affected by the July floods.
Riverside Gardens Village manager Patricia Campbell said the morning tea provided an opportunity for residents to thank the SES for its great work but also find out more about the work of SES volunteers in the Hawkesbury area.
“Kevin gave a great talk about the role of the SES during any nature of emergencies from people falling down holes, pets stranded in trees and the rescue of flood or fire victims,” she said.
“Kevin also pointed out the importance of flood evacuation plans not only as a community but on an individual basis. Many residents said they were sorry he couldn’t have stayed longer, but are looking forward to him returning to talk about fire and rescue.”
Kevin told the Hills to Hawkesbury Community News it is important that people know where to find out information during floods and know what to do. “A lot of people are concerned about whether they are safe or not and it’s good to let people know where to get information,” he said. “Our message is be prepared and to heed the warnings, know what your evacuation route will be, where you are going and leave early.”
He said the March and July floods peaked at just over 14m but the biggest concern in the July floods was the speed at which the water was rising.
“The water was rising 1.6m an hour which really restricted the time we had to door-knock and warn people,” he said.
SES volunteers door-knocked thousands of people during the floods.
He said people are advised to listen to the flood warnings on the radio and keep an eye out on weather reports and SES advice to evacuate.
Visit the SES website: www.ses. nsw.gov.au to find out more about being prepared and to check how vulnerable where you live is. You can also call 132 500 if you want advice or need to talk to the local unit about talking to your group.
