AGENDA
THE HILLS SHIRE
LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY 10
THMAY 2021 COMMENCING AT 1.00PM
(LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED FROM 12.30PM)
THE HILLS SHIRE COUNCIL 3 COLUMBIA COURT, NORWEST
COMMUNITY MEETING ROOM 6
All correspondence to be addressed to the:
Local Emergency Management Officer The Hills Shire Council, PO Box 7046, Norwest 2153
Telephone: (02) 9843 0205 Fax: (02) 9843 0409 [email protected]
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS/OBSERVERS No new members or observers
2. APOLOGIES
3. LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP LIST
The list of the Committee’s current Members and Observers will be circulated at the meeting for updating.
4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2020
A copy of the minutes is attached.
Recommendation: The Committee adopt the Minutes of the LEMC Meeting of 7th December 2020.
5. OUTSTANDING MATTERS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING There were no outstanding matters from the previous meeting.
Recommendation: The information be noted.
6. NORTHWEST METROPOLITAN REGION EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
Since the last LEMC meeting there has been one on-line REMC meeting that was held on 16th February 2021. The main issues discussed were:
• Covid 19 impacts
• Evacuation Centre audits
• EMPLAN review update
• Agency reports
Next meeting is scheduled for Friday 11th June 2021.
Recommendation: The information be noted.
7. MARCH 2021 FLOOD
As Committee members are well aware a significant flood event occurred on the Hawkesbury Nepean River system commencing on the weekend of the 20th and 21st March with flood waters not peaking for another seven 7 to 10 days. This is the first major flood event on this river system for approximately 30 years.
For The Hills Shire the main impacts of the flood occurred along low lying areas adjoining the Hawkesbury River and the lower reaches of Cattai Creek. Those impacts included extensive damage to most caravan parks along the river as well as some dwellings and many outbuildings. The flood also resulted in the temporary closure of a number of roads including Cattai Ridge Road, River Road and Pages Wharf Road to name a few. Pages Wharf Road is still currently closed due to a section of the road subsiding into the adjoining Hawkesbury River. Wisemans Ferry Park also suffered significant damage.
Sadly, a motorist lost his life after inadvertently driving into floodwater on Cattai Ridge Road at Cattai Creek. That tragedy is still under investigation and will no doubt be subject of a report to the Coroner.
Obviously the lead role in the response and early stages of the recovery was taken by the SES with enormous assistance provided by all of the other emergency services and other support agencies such as the relevant Councils, Transport for NSW, Resilience NSW, Public Works, Endeavour Energy, Local Land Services, EPA and Health to name a few, as well as the ADF.
As the main impact of the flood was located within the Hawkesbury Police Area Command’s operational area, a separate EOC for The Hills Shire was not established. However the LEMO worked from the Hawkesbury EOC during the response phase of the emergency and then remained at the Hawkesbury Council Administration Centre for the early stages of the recovery operation.
The LEMO also provided assistance to the LEOCON during the early stages of the flood response with the establishment and operation of an evacuation centre at Castle Hill RSL and to Local Land Services with the establishment of an animal evacuation facility at Castle Hill Showground. Great support to the operation of those evacuation centres was provided by many organisations, including several represented on our LEMC such as Red Cross and Anglicare. A particular thank you also needs to be given to the management and staff of Castle Hill RSL who couldn’t have been more helpful in assisting evacuees as well as those working at the evacuation centre. Although there were not a large number of evacuees at the centre at any one time, the care and support provided to them during such a stressful time was greatly appreciated.
For a short period the Regional EOC was relocated from the SES at Bass Hill to the Hills RFS District office at Kenthurst where the ongoing telecommunication challenges were again experienced.
Following the flood peak teams primarily consisting of SES and RFS personnel undertook an assessment of the extent of damage which helped with the planning of the clean-up and the commencement of recovery activities. The initial clean-up has largely been managed by staff from Public Works Advisory who engaged contractors to assist with the clean-up of the caravan parks and skip bin suppliers to assist with clean-up from residential and commercial properties. While the caravan clean-up is continuing, the supply of skip bins is coming to a close with Council assuming responsibility for any remaining deliveries and pick-ups.
Council has been primarily responsible for the clearing of flood debris from local roads and the restoration of other public assets and services.
As part of the recovery phase of the emergency, several Recovery Centres have been established including one at Wisemans Ferry which is largely being managed by Council with assistance from various agencies including Resilience NSW and Service NSW as well as the Red Cross. The Wisemans Ferry Recovery Centre is in an interesting location as the village of Wisemans Ferry is at the boundary of four adjoining local government areas being The Hills Shire, Hornsby Shire, Hawkesbury City and central Coast Council areas. As a result the centre has been dealing with, and is continuing to deal with, enquiries from residents of each Council area. The Centre is still operational at this stage although its operation is expecting to wind down shortly.
To further assist in the recovery process, Resilience NSW has established a Regional Recovery Committee which has been meeting online for a number of weeks and its work is continuing. The LEMO is participating in those meetings.
One of the specific challenges identified as part of the recovery process has been the management of eroded river banks which is having a significant impact on not just the Hawkesbury Nepean river system but a number of major rivers along the NSW east coast. As a result a task group has been established by Resilience NSW to develop a framework for how the reinstatement of these river banks will be managed many by local government and individual property owners. Council is participating in that task group.
A further update on the recovery process will be provided at the next LEMC meeting.
Recommendation: The report on the March 2021 flood be received.
8. COVID 19
The Covid 19 pandemic continues to be the major issue in relation to emergency management since the Committee’s last meeting in early September. Nevertheless, at this stage the response is still primarily being managed at a State level with a minimal need for any operational response from any local LEMCs.
A daily Situation Report is still being issued by the NSW State Emergency Operations Centre and is provided to the LEMO for his information
The pandemic is obviously having an impact on the operational effectiveness on all of the emergency services and emergency related support services, particularly in relation to training and the potential vulnerability of older volunteers.
Since the Committee’s last meeting Castle Hill Showground and the Baulkham Hills Netball Association carpark are still being used as a drive-through testing centre although the number of tests conducted at both sites have been largely dependent on the number and location of Covid 19 clusters and the recent evidence of traces of the virus being found in sewage samples in the north-west part of the Sydney Metropolitan area.
A drive through facility is also in operation at the former IBM complex in Coonara Avenue, West Pennant Hills.
Further details on the Covid 19 pandemic can be found on the NSW Health website at the following link:
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
Recommendation: The report on the Covid 19 update be received.
9. COVID 19 VACCINE ROLLOUT
On 10 February 2021 the LEMO participated in a State wide virtual briefing on the rollout of the Covid 19 vaccine.
The briefing provided details on the types of vaccines that have been acquired for use in Australia, their efficacy and the planned rollout schedule.
The earliest stages of the rollout with the Pfizer vaccine will use major city and regional hospital facilities because of the vaccine’s extremely low temperature storage requirements.
Therefore members of the population identified as high risk workers such as quarantine staff, hospital ICU staff etc. will have to attend those centres for the vaccine. This will be co- ordinated by NSW Health.
Responsibility for the vaccination of aged care residents and aged care staff using the Pfizer vaccine will be primarily the responsibility of the Commonwealth. Those vaccinations will be undertaken within each facility by accredited third party providers.
Later stages of the rollout using the Astra Zeneca and/or Novavax vaccines (assuming that they are approved for use by the TGA) which can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures will be delivered by primary health care providers such as GPs and pharmacists.
Unlike the current Covid 19 testing arrangements there are unlikely to be any pop-up type clinics for vaccinations, Therefore, at this stage Councils are unlikely to be called upon for assistance in identifying suitable sites for mass vaccination centres.
Interestingly the vaccine rollout officially commenced at the Castle Hill Medical Centre and received national media coverage.
Further information on the vaccination rollout program can be found at:
https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-
vaccines?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhIDE3MLg7gIVSkNgCh0YPwnWEAAYASAAEgJwh_D_BwE
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/covid-vaccination.aspx Recommendation: The report on the Covid 19 vaccine rollout be received.
10. EOC CRITICAL UPGRADE PROGRAM
In 2020 Resilience NSW undertook a Strategic Review of all EOCs across each LEMC area.
The review included an online survey of LEMOs, REMOs and LEOCONs. Further information and feedback was also sought from the RFS’s Infrastructure and ICT Divisions and the Department of Communities and Justice’s Information and Digital Service Divisions.
As a result of that Review it was identified that many EOCs required infrastructure upgrades, particularly in the area if ICT and utilities. As a result Resilience NSW has now offered significant funding toward the upgrade of specific facilities/infrastructure in the EOC at The Hills District Office of the RFS at Kenthurst.
The Team at the District Office is now reviewing the offer and will liaise with Council’s Building and IT Teams to determine the appropriateness of the upgrades identified in the funding offer.
Recommendation: The report on the EOC upgrade program be received.
11. HAWKESBURY NEPEAN VALLEY FLOOD PREPAREDNESS NETWORK MEETING On 18th March 2021 the LEMO attended a meeting coordinated by Resilience NSW to discuss a range of issues relating to the various Hawkesbury Nepean Valley. Attendees at the meeting included representatives from:
Resilience NSW
Infrastructure NSW
SES
REMOs
LEMOs
Some of the specific issues discussed included the current weather outlook, the review of the HNV flood plan and sub-plans, the HNV Disaster Preparedness Program, the Get Ready NSW program and the early stages of the Disaster Dashboard rollout that Hawkesbury Council is currently trialling.
The HCC dashboard can be viewed at the following link
https://disaster.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/
Recommendation: The report on the NHV flood preparedness meeting be received.
12. TRAINING
As Members and Observers are reminded at all LEMC meetings, details on all emergency management training courses can be found on the NSW Office of Emergency Management website at the following link:
www.emtraining.nsw.gov.au
Nominations for attendance at any of the courses can also be made through the website.
However it should be noted that due to the current Covid 19 pandemic, many of the face to face skills based courses may be temporarily unavailable.
Recommendation: The information on training be received.
13. REPORTS FROM MEMBER AND OBSERVER ORGANISATIONS REMO
NSW Police Force Fire and Rescue NSW NSW Ambulance Service Rural Fire Service State Emergency Service
Department of Family and Community Services Red Cross
Anglicare
Endeavour Energy
Greater Sydney Local Land Services Hills Private Hospital
Western Sydney Local Health District Tollaust Pty Limited
St John Ambulance Metro Trains Sydney Castle Hill RSL
14. GENERAL BUSINESS
15. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Subject to the agreement of the Committee the next meeting will be tentatively scheduled for Monday 5 July 2021 at The Hills Shire Council’s office commencing at 1.00pm.
