View easy read resource – Be ready for storms and floods (Download as PDF).
Upcoming local community flood guides
SES is working or plans to work with the following communities on community protection planning.
- Burnie and Wivenhoe
- Smithton and surrounds
- Westbury/ Quamby Brook
- Bracknell and the Upper Liffey River catchment
- Campbell Town and surrounds
- Ross and surrounds
- Avoca and surrounds
- Fingal and surrounds
- Upper Ringarooma
- Branxholm and Derby
- Lilydale – Pipers River
- Nunamara surrounds
- East Ulverstone and surrounds
- Penguin and surrounds
- Western Creek and surrounds
- Tunbridge and surrounds
- Bagdad and surrounds
- Upper Jordan
- Richmond and surrounds
For known flood prone communities without community protection plans, there are links to local council flooding information as an interim measure to find out more about flooding in your local area. See also the statewide strategic flood maps.
Find flood information for your area
Connect with others, Keep up to date, Act safe.
Know your risk
Storms can happen anywhere at any time and cause flooding.
Storms can damage
- trees
- buildings
- power-lines
Flood waters can rise quickly.
Even if a storm or flood does not damage your home, you may lose
- power
- phone and internet connection
- road access
Prepare your household
Prepare an emergency plan that everyone in your household understands.
View the checklists or go to or redcross.org.au/emergencies
Prepare an emergency kit
Pack now
Battery powered radio and torch, spare batteries
Important information, such as your emergency plan
Rubber or strong leather gloves
First aid kit
Food and water
Pack when needed
Warm clothes, strong shoes or boots
Medicines, glasses and other essential items
Pet food and anything else
your pets need
Mobile phone and phone charger
Photos and
special keepsakes
Important documents, for example
- insurance papers
- passports
- birth certificates
- money
Reduce risk where you can
Think about floods and storms when buying or developing a house or other property.
Remove trees that could fall on your home.
Keep your gutters and drains clear.
Connect with your neighbours and get involved in your community
Check your neighbours are aware of the dangers and safe.
Stay up to date
Keep up to date on current storm and flood warnings and information.
Understand the warnings and key information
Advice (Yellow): an incident has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in case the situation changes.
Watch and Act (Orange): There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family
Emergency Warning (Red): An Emergency Warning is the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.
Community update (Blue): Specific information and updates for affected communities regarding a particular event or incident.
Incident (White): an incident is the initial occurrence of an event before it becomes an emergency warning. As soon as an incident is reported, TasALERT published basic information including the type and location of incident.
Act Safe
Look after children and pets
Check on family and neighbours
Tie down or put away anything that could blow or wash away.
Check your emergency kit is ready to go.
If you choose to leave, leave early.
Keep indoors. During storms, stay away from windows and unplug electrical items where you can.
Prepare for possible power, water or internet cuts.
STAY AWAY from flood waters. They are DANGEROUS.
If you evacuate
Follow the advice from SES and Tasmania Police.
Go to friends
or family in a safer place or an evacuation centre.
Take your pets and your emergency kit.
Help prevent damage
Turn off your home’s electricity, gas and water at the mains.
Put plastic bags of sand or mud in toilets and over bath and sink plugholes.
Stay home unless it is unsafe to do so
Do not go sightseeing
If you do need to go out, watch out for hazards.
Water over roads.
Damaged power-lines.
Landslides or erosion.
Damaged roads.
Sewage or chemical hazards.
Damaged trees & roofing iron.
Drive slowly, turn on your headlights, turn away from floodwaters.
After
• Keep listening for updates and check www.tasalert.com
for information and available help after the event.
• If you left home, do not return until SES or Tasmania Police tell you it is safe.
• Watch out for hazards such as debris on roads or damaged roads.
If the storm or flood has damaged your home
Wear strong boots, gloves and protective clothes.
Do not turn
on electricity and gas until a licensed electrician or gas-fitter tests it.
Use a torch, never matches or candles inside flood affected buildings.
Boil drinking water until you are told the tap water is safe again.
Take photos
of any damage and contact your insurance company.
Check neighbours are okay.
If you need to stay somewhere else, take your emergency kit and pets with you.
Supervise children.
emergencies call Triple Zero 000
Further information
Current warnings – TasALERT.com
Emergency Broadcasters
Your local ABC radio station
Southern Tasmania
abc.net.au/hobart
936AM
Northern Tasmania
abc.net.au/northtas
91.7FM (Launceston)
102.5FM (Burnie)
100.5FM (Devonport)
90.5FM (Queenstown)
88.5FM (King Island)
TAS SES Social Media
facebook.com/sestasmania