Today NSW SES launches the state's official Spring-Summer storm season awareness

 

The NSW State Emergency Service is reminding state residents and visitors that while storms can happen at any time of the year, peak season is between October 2023 and March 2024, when NSW sees increased chances of strong winds and heavy rain, which risks floods and flash floods, and that even in periods forecasting low rainfall these storms can remain destructive. 

As anyone who has seen bushfire initiated by ‘dry’ lightning strike or driven forward by strong winds can attest.

We all need to be aware and prepared for storms.

Go to https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/disaster-tabs-header/storm/ for further preparedness advice

SES Media, COMMUNITY URGED TO BE PREPARED AHEAD OF STORM SEASON

05/09/2023 10:46 AM

The NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) is urging residents to be prepared and have a plan in place, ahead of the 2023-24 storm season.

While this year’s weather forecast is set to bring dry and hot conditions, the threat of increased storm activity remains.

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said community preparation is key.

“While this year’s warmer months are expected to be vastly different to what we’ve experienced in recent years, we are still moving in to peak storm season across the state,” Minister Dib said.

“It is important to know the storm risk, have a plan in place, get your home ready, be aware of what you will do if disaster strikes, and look out for one another.

“I would like to thank the NSW SES in advance for everything they will do for the communities across NSW during the upcoming storm season.”

NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York APM said now is not the time for communities to be complacent.

“Throughout storm season severe weather, such as flooding due to isolated heavy rainfall, strong wind events and damaging hail, can all have significant impacts on communities,” Commissioner York said.

“Last storm season our volunteers responded to more than 14,000 storm-related jobs throughout NSW. We are urging the community to get prepared by undertaking some simple activities around the house.

“Clean your gutters, downpipes and drains, secure and put away any loose items around your backyard and balcony, and trim trees and branches that could fall onto your home.”

Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Hugh McDowell said the long-range forecast shows that NSW can expect much less rainfall than last year and lower than median rainfall through Spring.

"There is also a very high chance of daytime maximum and overnight minimum temperatures being higher than usual," Mr McDowell said.

"Spring rainfall is likely to be suppressed across NSW by a developing El Nino and Positive Indian Ocean Dipole.

"Whilst these two climate drivers can reduce overall rainfall their influence on severe storms is less pronounced. We can expect the number of severe storms to be close to historical averages this year."

Spring is the peak time for severe thunderstorms along Australia's east coast. East Coast Lows can also bring storms in early spring, increasing the risk of hail, damaging winds and flash flooding.

Mr McDowell said the overall flood risk has been assessed as close to average.

"Whilst the Spring outlook is drier and warming, severe storms can bring significant rainfall in short periods, so flood risks remain for some catchments.”

Commissioner York said the NSW SES is ready and able to respond to storm activity.

“The NSW SES and Bureau of Meteorology recently signed a five-year partnership agreement that results in dedicated meteorology and hydrology services embedded within the NSW SES,” Commissioner York said.

“These roles provide direct access to decision support for all severe weather warnings from the Bureau as well as the ability to run and analyse flood modelling on any catchment at any time.

“This partnership with the Bureau puts NSW SES in a strong position to plan, prepare and respond to this year's severe weather season and spring flood risks."

Between October 2022 and March 2023, the NSW SES responded to more than 14,000 storm-related incidents. These incidents were not related to the widespread campaign flooding that took place across the state. Of these incidents, 544 occurred in the Port Macquarie-Hastings area, 544 in Ku-ring-gai, 469 in Hornsby, 377 in Sutherland, 373 in Dubbo and 650 in the Central Coast (Gosford and Wyong).

For more information on how to get ready ahead of this year’s storm season, visit www.ses.nsw.gov.au/getready

NSW SES Commissioner admits Perrottet Government's increased efficiency dividends required restructuring to meet operating budget cuts that meant “transformation did result in a reduction in staff” and had harmed “connection and support to units” by 2022

 

In March 2022 the NSW State Emergency Service website shows that SES Northern Zone controls 60 SES Units from the Newcastle-Hunter region up to the NSW-Qld border. 

A total of 28 of those emergency service units are in the roughly 100km wide coastal zone in the north east of the state: Ballina, Broadwater, Casino, Coraki, Kyogle, Lismore City, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Tabulam, Tweed Coast, Tweed Heads, Urbenville, Woodburn, Bellingen, Brushgrove, Coffs Harbour City, Copmanhurst, Corindi, Dorrigo, Grafton City, Lawrence, Maclean, Nambucca, Nymboida, Ulmarra, Urunga, Wooli-Yuraygir and Yamba. Units appear to be typically housed in basic one, two to three bay sheds. 

All SES Northern Zone units are under the control of a former member of the Australian Federal Police and current Chief Superintendent, NSW State Emergency Service - from headquarters at 72 Turton Street, Metford NSW 2323 on an industrial estate in the Newcastle region, roughly 404km as the crow flies from Yamba and even further away from Richmond Valley, Lismore, Ballina, Byron and Tweed local government areas.

The Guardian, 16 March 2022:

State Emergency Service units in some of the hardest-hit flood areas in northern New South Wales had warned the closure of regional offices in 2020 would reduce their ability to respond to natural disasters.

Communication between the SES units and senior levels of the organisation reveals tension about a restructure which was blamed on NSW government budget cuts.

In November 2020, 12 SES units in the Northern Rivers and Richmond valley wrote to the commissioner warning that a restructure “threaten[ed] the continued existence of units … and the future of the service”.

The complaint was spearheaded by the Kyogle SES unit and co-signed by unit commanders including in Ballina, Broadwater, Casino, Coraki, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, and Richmond Tweed – some of the towns worst affected by the recent floods. [my yellow highlighting]

In response, the SES commissioner, Carlene York, conceded that “transformation did result in a reduction in staff” and had harmed “connection and support to units”.

“However this was necessary to meet government savings targets,” she said.

In the 2018 budget, the then NSW treasurer and now premier, Dominic Perrottet, increased the “efficiency dividend” for government departments from 2% to 3%.

Unions warned at the time the measure would cost jobs and hurt services, but the government justified it on the basis it would “reduce back-office costs and focus expenditure where it is needed most”.

The response by the state SES and Australian Defence Force to what authorities describe as a one-in-500-year flood has been sluggish, prompting criticism that local communities were left to conduct their own rescues and clean-up.

If readers are interested in a stroll back through NSW strong wind, storm, flood, and bushfire history from 2016 to the present day they can go to https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/news/ and start scrolling.

UPDATE:

ABC News, 16 March 2022:

We are told from a young age that in a life-threatening situation, we should call triple zero and help will come.

But for hundreds, if not thousands, of northern New South Wales residents, their desperate pleas for help at the height of the floods went unanswered.

Those who still had a dry phone and service to call triple zero were told via a recorded message:

"Emergency Triple Zero in New South Wales is extremely busy due to extreme weather conditions. If you require Police, Fire or Ambulance attendance please stay on the line. For State Emergency Service call 132 500, for non-emergency police assistance call 131 444."

But when they rang the SES number, they were met with another recorded message telling them they would receive a call-back.

For the majority, that vital call-back took several hours, even days.

Communications and Security Commander for the New South Wales Police, Assistant Commissioner Stacey Maloney, said the number of emergency calls received on the morning of Monday, February 28, exceeded any other date on record.

She said the recorded message was played on connection to triple zero to "facilitate a timely response to calls from people requiring emergency assistance".

The SES admitted it was completely over-run, with 374 calls for help in just 30 minutes on Monday morning, and volunteers had to prioritise requests.

By the following day, there had been an estimated 2,000 calls for assistance across the Northern Rivers.

Calls for inquiry into handling of triple zero calls

The State Member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, was one of the many residents whose calls for help at the peak of the floods went unanswered.

"That was terrifying for people," she said.

"Triple zero is the last port of call when there's an emergency and if you don't get answered or you get diverted or you get cut off – that just cuts off your lifeline."

Ms Saffin said there needed to be answers about what went wrong to ensure there is not a repeat in future disasters.

"Can you imagine being in a house, in an attic, on a roof, ringing – if you could – and either being cut-off, not getting through, being diverted, that would be just the most terrible feeling," she said.

"I don't know why [it happened], but that's one thing that clearly has to be answered in an inquiry."

Few in the region doubt the death toll would have been catastrophic had it not been for the heroic efforts of civilians in their tinnies, kayaks and jet skis.

After her own rescue, Lismore resident Sally Flannery used social media to collect hundreds of messages for help, that were then triaged and published online to inform the rescue effort.

"I tried to call SES and I couldn't get through and then I never received a call back and I thought, how many people is this happening to?" she said…...