Before an Emergency

Prepare your Property

Preparing your property is an important step in ensuring you are ready for an emergency.  

For Fire - Everyone in Victoria who lives near dense forest, bush, grassland or the coast needs to prepare their property for bushfire. Prepare your property for bushfire and find local bushfire information at:

Online Fire Planner | Victoria State Government

How to Prepare Your Property | CFA (Country Fire Authority).
Local information | CFA (Country Fire Authority) (please note that South Gippsland is in the West and South Gippsland Fire District)

South Gippsland has a Neighbourhood Safer Places (NSPs) facility in Sandy Point at the community centre located at: 7 Church Parade (cnr of Ocean View Parade and located within the T P Taylor Reserve. This is a designated Neighbourhood Safer Place - Place of Last Resort. More information can be found here Neighbourhood Safer Places | CFA (Country Fire Authority) 

For Storm - There are a number of things that you can do to make sure you and your property stay safe during storms. The Victorian SES have listed some helpful tips here: Storms (ses.vic.gov.au)

For Flood - A well-prepared community can reduce the impact of flooding by up to 80%. People who are prepared are more likely to respond to floods appropriately and safely. People who have planned and prepared for emergencies can help to reduce the impact of emergencies on their homes and families and recover faster. For more information, take a look at the Victorian SES website here: Flood (ses.vic.gov.au). For more information, on preeparing for emergency, please visit Flood and Storm Emergencies - SES.

Flood information specific to the Tarwin River at Tarwin Lower and Venus Bay can be found here Tarwin Valley Flood Guide | South Gippsland Shire Council                   

Power Outage
Prepare for power outage at:
Prepare for an electrical outage (ausnetservices.com.au)

• Fully charge your mobile phone.
• Keep a battery-operated radio and torch on hand (as well as spare batteries).
• Fill up your car with fuel.
• Ensure you know how to manually open your electric garage door.
• Keep trees close to private electricity lines regularly pruned by a qualified contractor.
• Turn your fridge to a cooler setting to help keep food colder for longer during an outage.
• Adjust the ‘autosave’ function on your computer for more frequent back-up of important documents.

Insurance

Make sure to check your insurance policies each year to ensure that it provides you with enough cover to rebuild to a standard that you are comfortable with.

If you are under-insured, you may find it hard to rebuild after an emergency as it could result in having to borrow extra money.  A bushfire, flood or other emergency could destroy driveways, retaining walls, gardens, sheds, fencing, stock, swimming pools and more. Call your insurance broker or insurance company to discuss your policy limits and coverage.

Many policies do not automatically include flood cover so make sure you know what your policy includes.

The Department of Families Fairness and Housing have partnered with Good Shepherd to create the 'Insure it. It’s worth it.' financial preparation guide:

Department of Families Fairness and Housing Victoria | Insure it. It's worth it. (dffh.vic.gov.au)