Emergencies & Disasters

Before a disaster

Here in the Clarence Valley, we're lucky to enjoy a subtropical climate and diverse and spectacular natural landscapes including river systems, bushland and beaches.

But like most of Australia, we are also prone to severe weather events - floods, bushfires, heatwaves and severe storms. The best way to minimise the impact of these is to be prepared.

During a disaster

During a disaster, situations can change very quickly. Make sure you have the following emergency contacts and local resources for fire, flood, storms and heatwaves on hand at all times, and check for emergency updates on the Clarence Valley Disaster Dashboard.

After a disaster

This page provides information to help support our community in recovering from emergencies and disasters.

Type of Emergency	Combat Agency
Life threatening emergency	000 (triple zero) - you will be transferred to the appropriate service
Fire	In a rural fire district: NSW Rural Fire Service In an urban fire district: Fire and Rescue NSW
Flood/Storm/Tsunami	NSW State Emergency Service

Our Council's role during a disaster

Emergencies or disaster events are coordinated and controlled by either a Combat Agency or an Emergency Operations Controller in accordance with the State Emergency Management Plan. The Combat Agency will vary, depending on the type of emergency.

Whilst Clarence Valley Council is not a Combat Agency - in a disaster or emergency event, as a member of the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) we work to:

Advise of any interruptions to the services we provide, including the status of roads and bridges, water and waste services and more.
Restore council owned or managed assets and services in a timely manner to ensure the safety of our community.
Support emergency services and/or combat agencies keep our community up to date by sharing key messaging before, during and after emergencies.

Flood Monitoring Stations

We regularly monitor several locations in the Clarence Valley for potential flooding, including the Bluff Bridge at Glenreagh and Prince St in Grafton. View the latest images from each monitoring station here.

Flood Monitoring Stations

Live Traffic

While Council and Transport for NSW make every effort to ensure that information represented in LiveTraffic is current, during heavy rainfall events, flash flooding may occur quickly. Always remember to drive to the conditions and if it’s flooded, forget it.

Live Traffic

Disaster Dashboard

Head to the Clarence Valley Disaster Dashboard for live and essential information on local flood, fire, and health events, plus road closures and more.

Disaster Dashboard

Local Emergency Management Planning

Under the State Emergency & Rescue Management (SERM) Act 1989 it is a requirement that Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMC) prepare & review local emergency management plans in respect of the relevant local government area.

The roles and responsibilities of State Agencies, Emergency Services, Functional Areas and Council are defined under SERM and the NSW State Emergency Management Plan.

Local Emergency Management Plan - EMPLAN

The EMPLAN is the local Emergency Management Plan(PDF, 1MB). This document provides a coordinated and comprehensive approach to emergency management and is developed to align with agency sub-plans and supporting plans. arrangements for prevention of, preparation for, response to and recovery from emergencies.

The objectives of this plan are to:

Demonstrate a level of preparedness by the LEMC.
Provide a flexible set of arrangements that can be used as a reference by LEMC.
Sets out the control, co-ordination, and liaison arrangements at the local level.
Detail activation and escalation arrangements for participating agencies.

Local Emergency Management Officer - LEMO

In accordance with the State Emergency Management Plan, a Local Emergency Management Officer (LEMO) is appointed by Council to provide executive support to the Local Emergency Management Committee and the Local Emergency Operations Controller.

The position undertakes the critical roles of:

Disaster planning with emergency services and functional areas.
Co-ordinating the review of the local EMPLAN.
Maintaining situational awareness of emerging risks or hazards.
Establishing and maintaining effective communication networks with emergency services and functional areas.
Facilitating and coordinating requests for assistance from emergency services for Council to support their activities responding to emergencies.

Local Emergency Management Committee - LEMC

The LEMC is responsible for:

Executing emergency management policy and coordinating emergency management practice at the local level.
Reviewing & preparing plans in respect of the local government area that are established under the state emergency management plan.
Develop, conduct & evaluate local emergency management exercises to test the local EMPLAN.

LEMC meeting Minutes