“Following last week’s Tropical Cyclone Dylan we want to make sure everyone in the Whitsunday region is aware of what storm surge zone they live in,” Mayor Whitney said.

“The Whitsunday region dodged a bullet with Cyclone Dylan, had the cyclone crossed the coast
later in the morning, as originally predicted, there would have much more damage and inundation due to storm surge.

“As the disaster was unfolding a number of SMS alerts were sent to all residents in the Whitsunday region urging them to consider evacuation if they lived in a particular coloured zone.

“This prompted a flurry of activity on the Council website and Facebook page with people trying to find out which zone they live in.

“During each disaster event the Whitsunday Regional Council learns more about how best to
manage an event and I think members of the public do too.

“There are many important things that you can do now to prepare your family and your home for a cyclone and finding out if your home is in an area that could be prone to storm surge or flooding is an important one.

“Storm Surge Inundation Maps are included in the Emergency Action Guide which was sent to
every household in the Whitsunday region, the Guides and are available for viewing at all Council Libraries and Offices are on the Councils web site.

“If residents have misplaced their guide or did not receive one, they can contact Council to get
another one.

“While local, state and federal governments can spend millions of dollars every year on disaster
mitigation, response and recovery, these efforts can be worthless if families do not take the proper precautions themselves,” she said.

Mayor Whitney said in the lead-up to storm season the Whitsunday Disaster Management
Group has been urging residents in coastal areas to familiarise themselves with the storm tide
inundation mapping to identify the relevant evacuation zone for their properties.

“The zones shown in the Emergency Action Guide (EAG) are an indication only for storm tides,”
she said.

“To view full-scale mapping, residents are urged to visit Council’s Customer Service Centres
and Libraries across the region or visit Council’s website www.whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au under
the ‘Disaster’ tab.

To keep up to date with information relating to current disaster events, residents are encouraged to ‘Like’ the Whitsunday Disaster and Emergency Information Facebook page, which will provide
a direct link to information from the Whitsunday Disaster Management Group.

The Whitsunday Disaster Management Group monitors all cyclone and storm activity throughout
the season and through Council, will provide up to date information to media outlets and the
community.

Ends

For media enquiries, contact:
Kate Lennox, Communications Manager
Phone: 07 4945 0293, 0427 458 369 or Email: kate.lennox@whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au