Connected & Prepared – Community Emergency Response

About
Connected and Prepared is the extension and development of a program commenced in 2018 as the Community Emergency Action Plan.
In 2019 a Hawkesbury City Council Grant enabled us to undertake a survey of all residents in 2020. this resulted in a detailed secure database being established, listing every property, areas of isolation and special needs.
In early 2022 the project was significantly boosted with the award of an Australian Government Black Summer Bushfires Recovery (BSBR) Grant of $280,000.
This BSBR grant object was to build a more resilient and better equipped Macdonald Valley community, to cope with the impact of emergencies and disasters.
The grant funded part of the project has now finalised and the project is moving into an ongoing maintenance and training phase, having set up a robust independent communication system and network of active Neighbourhood wardens throughout The Macdonald and Webbs Creek valleys.
Services
The Grant has assisted in the MVA being able to provide the following services to better connect and protect our community:
- Community Warden Network
- UHF radio network
- Emergency Grab bags
- Household Emergency Response Plans
- More Defibrillators
- Water Cube and Trailer
- Mapping
- Macdonald Valley App
- Signage
These are all described in more detail on this page.
Water Trailer
This is a free community asset, located ????
It can be booked for free by community members as a convenient and reliable water source:
- Pile burns
- Flood recovery wash down
- Water re-supply in emergencies
- Collecting and carrying water for stock watering
- Water collection / carrying for garden irrigation in dry time
- Community tree planting watering / maintenance
Your vehicle must be registered and insured to use this trailer and all use is at your own risk.
View the calendar below to check availability and book. Once booked you will be sent a code to the security lock.
<<dont book it yet its not set up>>>
PLESE THINK OF OTHERS AND ONLY USE THIS FOR SAFETY PURPOSES.
Report any damage. Return it on time so that others may use it and so that volunteers don’t have to waste time chasing people up.
Thank you
Community Wardens
We now have 25 wardens covering the entire valley and Webbs Creek. The valley is divided into 5 sectors, each sector being divided into sub-sectors with a Warden. Maps showing the sectors and sub-sectors are being prepared. These will be posted in community venues and available to download.
Wardens are permanent residents who voluntarily look out for their immediate neighbours in their sub-sector. This may include checking on and supporting the physical welfare and mental wellbeing of residents & visitors in their area and guiding them to solutions as required.
Wardens are not emergency responders or support workers but are there to provide information and direct neighbours to information sources and emergency services relevant to their needs.
All wardens are connected via a WhatsApp network that includes SES and RFS personal. This has proved invaluable on a number of occasions, to share information and get help to people fast in emergency situations. During power and network outages wardens connect via high power base stations, which form part of the valley wide UHF radio network.
During Isolation events the warden may also become a “temporary” conduit for messages to neighbours within their sub-sector who may be isolated with no power or other communication channels, other than UHF.
The wardens’ group has evolved into an integral part of the valley and we encourage people to take over any vacancies to ensure the whole valley is covered.
The UHF Emergency is channel 9 for the whole valley. Each sector has its own ‘chat’ channel as well, to be agreed to by each sub-sector and warden.
In an emergency phone 000 or the SES on 132 500
Download a list of Wardens using the button below. We will receive notification and then give locals permission to download the list. Please don’t share wardens’ personal details with third parties.
Macdonald Valley App
Big thanks to Tristan Norbury for developing this iPhone app for the valley, which provides quick links to resources like river gauges, cameras, AED locations and other emergency information. The project was able to fund hosting of this app.
Ensure you download from the App Store if you have an iPhone!
Residents Radio Network
UHF radios have proven themselves as a useful communication tool during emergency events and telecommunications failures throughout the various valley areas.
The MVA Connected and Prepared Team aims to promote their use and improve the UHF infrastructure for future emergency and communications blackouts.
We’ve seen how useful they have been already:
• Adopting UHF Channel 9, used in welfare checks from RFS crews to local householders, during the 2019-20 bushfires
• Neighbour-to-Neighbour networks in parts of the valley for catch-ups and chats
• Relaying of messages when phone lines have been out in parts of the valley
• Sharing information and get help to people fast in emergency situations.
• Safety at home when out and about on your property
• Promoting UHF Channel 9 potential for SES to connect locally in flood activities
Base Stations, Relays and Repeaters
The network is supplemented by static base stations in wardens’ houses and other strategic locations, including local fire sheds. After receiving Council and RFS approval in 2024 Lower Mac and Wisemans Ferry Fire Stations are now fitted with MVA provided Base Stations. St Albans station already has a base station.
To link the network across the length and breadth of the valley we have installed some repeaters and relays:
- Repeater MVA1 on the Common to link Fernances with Cosy Nook and Higher Macdonald
- Repeater (MVA2) to be installed on top of a hill in Lower Macdonald between St Albans Road and Webbs Creek.
- Automated Relay at Cosy Nook to link south
- Relay MVA6 at Thomsons Run
- 25 Base Stations
Extensive testing and adjustment has been undertaken and it is now possible to communicate up and down and across the valley from the furthest inhabited points north to Wisemans Ferry RFS station in the south.
Once MVA2 is operational, more valley wide testing will take place.
Emergency Grab bags
- First aid kit
- Radio/torch/charger
- V-sheet to identify your location for helicopters or boats
- USB stick to store vital documents
- Redi – Plan for your personal Emergency planning
- Unique Emergency Response Plan for your Property
Emergency Response Plan
An additional benefit of the plan is that all householders will be able to use information prepared for their properties in the CERP to assist in future private Development Applications you may make. Council’s new Development Controls includes provisions for “Site Flood Emergency Response Plans” (SERP) and ‘sheltering in place’ “Where it has been demonstrated that evacuation of a property located within the MacDonald Valley .. is not possible..
Survey
In late 2021 we produced a survey to help with our knowledge of the valley and the areas that become isolated. This informed the creation of sectors and sub-sectors, resulting in the Community Warden Network being set up to look after these local areas. Survey information has been incorporated into a master spread sheet for use by wardens and other emergency agencies.
It also enables the preparation of individual Emergency Response Plans for every property.
Privacy
Privacy of Information is paramount. All information is held in confidence on a single secure spreadsheet, accessible only by MVA Wardens and one SES official, with a password. Information will only be supplied to nominated local RFS and SES officials as required in an emergency situation. Information will not be shared with Council.
You can of course have access to all information relating to your own property.
Defibrillators
In 2024 the Connected and Prepared project provided funding to the Community Defibrillators Project to purchase five more static AEDs, placed in strategic locations, based on flooding knowledge and maximum population reach. The project moved a couple of existing de-fibs to more appropriate locations in line with our better knowledge of flooding and isolation.
There is also a portable AED available for loan during community events.
All AEDs are close to relevant wardens, who undertake monthly checks on them.
There are now a total of ?? AEDs in our valley. These are (to be) all shown on the Macdonald Valley App.
Useful Resources and Reminders
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- EmergencyPlus app – https://www.emergencyplus.com.au The Emergency+ app is a free app developed by Australia’s emergency services and their Government and industry partners. The app uses GPS functionality built into smart phones to help a Triple Zero (000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services
- Fires Near Me – https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/stay-up-to-date and remember to set a Watch Zone locally or if you are travelling. You can select a radius to keep watch on.and this means you’ll receive notifications for that distance from the location you drop the pin.
- BOM – http://www.bom.gov.au/app/ BOM Weather app for access to hourly and 7-day forecasts, radar and warnings
- SES – https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au
- RFS – https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au
Useful Information and Links
- Weather www.bom.gov.au/nsw/
- Warnings NSW www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/
- Warnings Australia http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/warnings/index.shtml
- Flood Warnings, Evacuation Warnings and Orders
- www.ses.nsw.gov.au
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NSW.SES
- SES Hawkesbury runs a Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/seshawkesbury
Local SES and RFS Facebook sites
which do carry some localised information for provisions and welfare:
* Wisemans Ferry RFS – https://www.facebook.com/WFRFS
* Lower Macdonald RFS – https://www.facebook.com/lowermacdonaldrfs
* Hawkesbury SES – https://www.facebook.com/seshawkesbury
* Hills SES – https://www.facebook.com/TheHillsSES
Council
- Hawkesbury City Council Disaster and Emergency Dashboard https://disaster.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au
- Councils Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/hawkesburycitycouncil
- https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/emergency/flood-emergency
- Community members are feeding in to updates on the various local valley social media:
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172232919469335
- https://www.facebook.com/Macdonald-Valley-Association-855084291345602
- Endeavour energy https://www.facebook.com/endeavourenergy and website https://www.endeavourenergy.com.au/safety/flood-safety
Meeting Minutes and Survey Summary
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