This week NSW SES, Emergency Management Australia (EMA) and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) ran a joint tsunami exercise in Brisbane. The exercise aimed to examine the impact of a tsunami along the east coast of Australia between QLD and NSW and then explore the processes and challenges associated with this event during the response phase.
Over 130 QLD and NSW members from 46 emergency services/functional areas joined to undertake the exercise. The day began with the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) and Geoscience Australia providing an overview of the various triggers for tsunamis, the impacts they could have, and the intelligence systems, modelling and products currently available. Armed with this information, the exercise participants worked through a tsunami scenario from the initial warning to impact and post-impact. Throughout the exercise, participants identified critical actions at each stage of a tsunami, current challenges and possible solutions.
Exercises like these give emergency services the opportunity to develop their tsunami planning and decision-making capabilities.
A big thank you to our NSW SES Daniel Kenner and Paul McQueen for your role in the exercise committee and for preparing a well thought out and run exercise.
NSW SES attendees: Greg Swindells, Sharon Fox, Sonya Oyston, Sean Kearns, Nicholas Kuster
