Toowoomba Regional Council

The Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) is responsible for the coordination and management of resources, to ensure and maintain safe communities within the region prior to, during and after a disaster. This will be achieved by constantly reviewing and updating disaster management arrangements and investigating new initiatives to meet the changing needs of the region and each local community within. The TRC has a number of aspects to support this role, some are: • Local Disaster Management Group • Disaster Management Coordinator • Disaster Coordination Centre • Local Disaster Management Plan and Sub-Plans Among the TRC objectives are: Prevention. This includes hazard identification, risk assessment, and measures taken in advance to avoid the disaster or its impacts, to reduce or eliminate loss of life or damage to property, to minimize environmental harm and to protect economic development. This includes: • Increase adherence to and introduction of systems and regulations that reduce disaster risks; and • Investigate and implement (where appropriate) strategies/initiatives to eliminate or reduce the impact of the effects of hazards on the community through the use of the Emergency Risk Management Process. Preparedness. Arrangements or plans to ensure timely response, relief and rehabilitation in the event of a disaster. It requires appropriate organisational structures, trained persons, plans and procedures. This includes: • Increase community safety through public awareness, information and education; • Encourage an all agencies, all hazards ethos through the workings of the TRC LDMG; Identify resources to maximize response; • Develop contingency plans to address response and recovery issues; and • Establish and maintain working relationships with other agencies to increase disaster management capability. Response. This is the process of combating the impacts of a disaster and for providing immediate assistance to affected persons and sections of the community. The aims of response operations are to save lives and sustain survivors, to protect property, minimize environmental harm and render an affected area safe. This includes: • Efficiently and effectively coordinate the response to an event in conjunction with other emergency response agencies (commitment to an all-agencies approach); and • Minimise the impact on the community of a disaster event. Recovery. This is the process by which an affected community is assisted in regaining an appropriate level of functioning following a disaster. It includes restoration of the emotional, social, economic and physical well being of the community and reconstruction of the physical infrastructure. This includes: • Adequately provide immediate welfare post event; and • Ensure the recovery priorities of the community are met in collaboration with other member agencies of the Toowoomba Disaster District Recovery Committee.