The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has advised communities across the State to be prepared for the upcoming storm season which could include heavy rain, flash flooding and hailstones.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott joined SES volunteers to launch the start of the storm season and witness a simulation of an “all-too-common SES rescue” – a fallen tree on a crushed vehicle.
Mr Elliott said the best defence against storm season was a prepared community.
“As the weather heats up over summer, storms become more frequent,” Mr Elliott said.
“While parts of NSW have experienced extremely dry conditions and bushfires, we have also seen severe storms with damaging winds, hail and snow,”
He said the NSW SES responded to more than 5,600 storm damage jobs in the past three months and over 34,000 storm related jobs in the past year.
“Severe storms can hit at any time, so families need to know their risk and make a plan,” Mr Elliott said.
Acting Commissioner at NSW SES, Kyle Stewart said that while the official storm season ran from 1 October to 31 March each year, severe weather can strike at any time and communities should always be prepared.
Storm safety tips for before and during an emergency are available at this PS News link.
