Prepare for storm season - October is Get Ready Month

What would Glenn do? … prepare for storm season by cleaning up around your yard – and don’t forget to sort your load before heading to a waste facility.

Fraser Coast residents are encouraged to help mates, family, friends, and neighbours to prepare for the storm and cyclone season.

As part of Get Ready Month in October, residents who visit a waste facility to dispose of unwanted or unused outdoor items will be eligible for an entry into a giveaway to win a $500 Buy Local Gift Card.

To encourage residents to help their mates, family, friends, and neighbours, you can make multiple entries. Residents receive one entry into the giveaway per visit. Multiple entries are permitted if residents come on multiple occasions during the month of October.

“The more trips you do, the more entries you can have,” Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said.

“We hope the giveaway will encourage people to help each other out by either loaning utes or trailers to family, friends or relatives or by taking loads to the waste facility for them.

“To enter is simple, just scan the QR code on the flyer that will be handed out at the waste facility and fill in your details later to ensure traffic flow.”

The winner will be announced in November.

“October is the time to have a clean-up around your yard to get rid of anything that could become airborne in a storm or a cyclone,” Cr Seymour said.

“Get rid of those old sheets of corrugated iron, damaged or unwanted or unused play equipment (trampolines, swing sets), outdoor furniture, barbeques or old guinea pig cage from your backyard,” he said.

“Clean your gutters and trim trees and branches from around your homes. Broken branches and loose items can become airborne in a storm or cyclone and damage houses or injure people.”

A list of items that can be disposed of for free during the Get Ready Month is available on the Council website www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/storm-season-clean-up.

Residents are still urged to sort their loads to ensure all reusable and recyclable items and green waste can be disposed of for free and don’t end up in landfill.

Tyres, mattresses or fridges, freezers and air conditioners that have not been degassed will attract the normal disposal fee.

Loads from commercial operators will be charged at normal rates.

Information on how to plan ahead is available at www.getready.qld.gov.au/ while the Fraser Coast Disaster Dashboard - https://disaster.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/ - was a one stop shop of emergency services information.

“To stay up to date with road closures, river heights and storm warnings make sure you download the Disaster Dashboard app to your phone and opt-in for email or SMS notifications,” Cr Seymour said.

“You can even log on to cameras and watch livestreams of some of our bridges and river through the app and the Disaster Dashboard webpage.”

Get Ready Month will be kicked off with Food n Groove events in Hervey Bay and Maryborough.

The first Food n Groove will be held at the Seafront Oval in Hervey Bay on Friday night (October 1) and be followed a week later with Food n Groove at the Maryborough Showgrounds on October 8.

As part of the Get Ready Food n Groove events, attendees will be able to have a close-up look at emergency service vehicles and you will be able to talk with emergency service representatives on how to plan and prepare for bushfires, storms and cyclones.

As usual at Food n Groove events, a variety of food trucks will be operating, and a band will keep your toes tapping from 4pm to 9pm.

While the events are free, to ensure they are COVID safe you will have to check in on the night using the Check -In QLD app.