QLD Volunteer Disaster Management Tool

Volunteering Qld has launched a new online resource for disaster management.

Volunteering Qld has launched a new online module that it says offers common sense advice and demystifies the official state disaster management arrangements.

Volunteering Qld CEO Jelenko Dragisic said the interactive resource, called ‘Disasters: Know Your Role’, was designed to be fun while giving people clear advice on how to prepare, respond to, and recover from disaster events.

“We have been offering Disaster Resilience Leadership Workshops in local communities since March 2011 and one of the persistent messages we were getting was the need for an easy-to-understand resource that explains our disaster arrangements in plain English,” Dragisic said.

“The Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements are designed to guide coordinated action that will minimise the impacts of natural disasters, but at close to 90 pages long, they can be a bit overwhelming.

“The goal of the new “Disaster: Know Your Role” module is to capture the key elements of this document so people can understand how government and non-government organisations work together when disasters occur.

“The resource also offers common-sense advice for each stage of a disaster, and covers some of the more common myths.”

Dragisic said Queenslanders are twice as likely to experience natural disasters than the other Australian states.

“Every one of us can play an important part in protecting our loved ones and our communities from natural disasters, but we need to work together to achieve the best results,” Dragisic said.

“’Disasters: Know Your Role’ is a great complement to our Disaster Readiness Index, an online checklist which helps people plan and prepare for disasters before they hit.”

‘Disasters: Know Your Role’ and the Disaster Readiness Index are available online at emergencyvolunteering.com.au