IGEM Report 1: 2017-18 - THE CYCLONE DEBBIE REVIEW

Inspector-General Emergency Management

On Sunday 26 March, as the cyclone track consistently pointed to a crossing at Ayr, the Burdekin local group directed evacuations of Alva Beach, Groper Creek, Jerona, Wunjunga and some areas of Rita Island. The advice was provided by Emergency Alert late in the evening. Following a state decision to facilitate the safety of residents of Home Hill and Ayr, buses were also provided for a voluntary evacuation to Cairns the next day at 9.00am. More than 30 people arrived in Cairns, to be received and accommodated through arrangements put together between the Far North District and Cairns local group partners on Monday morning - an excellent case study of how a council and agencies unaffected by an event can play an important role. The next day, on Monday 27 March, the Burdekin Multi-Purpose Facility was opened as a place of refuge from 8.00am. It eventually took in around 70 people. 35 While the cyclone intensified to a severe tropical cyclone, its predicted tracks slipped further south, taking the Burdekin out of the most affected area. On 28 March, the Bureau advised that gale force winds would impact Ayr from 3.00pm. There was loss of data from river gauges for a six to eight hour period which lead to concern over the validity of the information provided by the Bureau to the Burdekin group and the public. On 31 March, the Burdekin local group “stood down.” The Burdekin local group had been supported by strong leadership and governance processes, which were tailored to their needs. Its actions during the event reflected a strong understanding of the disaster management system and its application.

Whitsunday On Friday 24 March, with the cyclone track predicted well north of Townsville and the council area outside the “cone of uncertainty” of possible tracks, the Whitsunday local group “leant forward.” This pre-emptive action was the result of a new trigger process for activations developed by the local groups in the Mackay District in response to lessons from cyclones Marcia and Dylan. The Whitsunday local group had recently developed new storm tide evacuation zone maps, and the same day the group began notifying the community about the tropical low, its proximity to the region and the need for residents to plan for evacuation. It did so via the Whitsunday Regional Council website and the dedicated Whitsunday Disaster and Emergency Information Facebook page. On Sunday 26 March, as the predicted track moved south and encompassed the Whitsundays, the group moved to “stand up”. Both the local group and council increased their messaging to raise the community’s awareness and understanding of the new storm tide zones and processes for evacuation. The storm tide maps showed the need to evacuate more than 4300 property blocks from the red and orange zones. Their residents were advised to evacuate on Sunday 26 March and a second set of residents, whose properties lay in the yellow zone, were evacuated the following morning. The effective evacuation and cooperation of residents from these areas was made possible by the extensive pre-season community engagement and awareness- raising activities run by the local group.

Date

North Queensland – BURDEKIN

22 March • Tropical low identified

• LDMG convened in Townsville • Burdekin local group starts meeting • Whitsunday LDMG leaned forward • Townsville LDMG leaned forward • Townsville Local Disaster Coordinator appointed • Townsville LDCC on standby

24 March

• Townsville LDMG stood up • Townsville Local Disaster Coordinator stood up • Townsville LDCC stood up

4.51am • BoM predicts crossing coast south of Townsville as category 4 on 28 March 10.00am • Low named as TC Debbie 6.00pm • Shute Habour pilotage area closed 12 midnight • Townsville LDMG evacuation sub-group activated Before 7.00am • Whitsunday LDMG moved to stand up 11:25am • Whitsunday red and orange zones advised to evacuate 5.22pm • BoM issued storm tide warnings 5.24pm • Burdekin chair directed voluntary evacuation to commence the following day 7.49pm • BoM issues cyclone track map for Townsville Late evening • Burdekin directs specific evacuations via EA of areas Morning • Bowen and Proserpine cyclone shelters opened 6.00am • Directed evacuation of Cape Cleveland, Cungulla and Cleveland Palms started 6.00am • Remaining Townsville red zone directed to evacuate 6.00am • Heatley evacuation centre activated 8.00am • Burdekin multipurpose facility opened as place of refuge 9.00am • Buses provided for the voluntary evacuation of Home Hill and Ayr to Cairns 10.11am • Whitsunday yellow zone evacuated Whitsunday islands and Airlie beach tourists commenced evacuation 11.00am • Townsville deemed outside the cone of uncertainty 11.47am • Mackay LDMG issued act and evacuate now EAs for Midge Point, St Helens Beach areas 1.37pm • Mackay storm tide advice worsened 2.00pm • Four places of refuge opened in Townsville 2.40pm • Mackay issued further EAs to prepare and act 6.00pm • Mackay LDMG advise to evacuate now Mackay area Between 5.00pm–12 midnight • TC intensified to category 4 off Whitsundays

25 March

26 March

27 March

The Whitsunday Regional Council and LDMG recently redesigned their storm tide evacuation maps. The maps have been simplified, by reducing the number of coloured zones and ensuring only one zone per residence, to make it easier for the community to identify their home and cyclone shelters, and to follow evacuation routes. The effects of climate change on storm tide, such as sea level rise have also been included. These maps were used for the first time during Debbie. We heard that they made processes and decision making easier and, thanks to significant efforts to socialise the new maps with the local community, they encouraged the cooperation of residents during the evacuation.

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The Cyclone Debbie Review

Lessons for delivering value and confidence through trust and empowerment