Australia Queensland Cyclone Marcia

Twitter messages for our keyword search are streaming at about 1.6k messages per minute. Our first report on the two cyclones striking Australia is focused on reporting social media based releases for officials including police, regional councils, communications, utilities and transportation. This special report covers Queensland and Tropical Cyclone Marcia.

Situation Report: Cyclone Marcia, Queensland, Australia, Feb 2015

Situation Report – (period covered: 20-21 Feb, 2015)

Prepared by: Humanity Road / Animals in Disaster     Follow: @Humanityroad / @Disasteranimals / @jAIDDog

Situation Overview

Background

Cyclones Marcia and Lam approach Queensland (#QLD) and Northern Territory (NT).

#NT Tropical Cyclone Lam : For updates about #NT and #TCLam visit BOM NT  follow @BOM_NT Its destructive core is battering the mainland coast between Milingimbi and Elcho Island in the Northern Territory, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says. Several thousand people are sheltering without power in the region.  

#QLD Tropical Cyclone Marcia: The following report is a special sitrep social media report on official accounts actively responding to #TCMarcia along the Queensland Coast. For updates about #QLD and #TCMarcia visit BOM QLD and Follow @BOM_Qld . Marcia crossed the coast near Shoalwater Bay and is moving south. Very destructive winds expected in Yeppoon. Recommended Action: People between Sarina and Double Island Point should complete preparations quickly and be prepared to shelter in a safe place. Boats and outside property should be secured [using available daylight hours/before nightfall]. For cyclone preparedness and safety advice, visit Queensland’s Disaster Management Services website (www.disaster.qld.gov.au)

Significant Updates (most recent first)

21 Feb:

During the night of 20 Feb, an emergency evacuation was ordered for the central Queensland towns of Jambin and Goovigen after automatic floodgates opened at the nearby Callide Dam.  About 100 people could be affected by flooding.  An SMS alert system failed, but residents were contacted via landline and social media (source).

#TCMarcia “grazed” the regional town of Yeppoon and maintained a lot of its force to directly hit the city of Rockhampton as a Category 3 cyclone.  Townships have been extensively damaged with roofs ripped off homes and trees uprooted.  About 50,000 homes across the Capricorn Coast are without power (source)  

Rockhampton Regional Council damage assessment: 732 requests including 92 flooding cases, 352 structural, 123 fallen trees and 14 evacuations (source).

20 Feb:

Residents of Kinka, Percy Ford and Swordfish ave (Livingstone Shire) are at risk of storm tide inundation. Urgent evacuation recommendedsource source

Issued: 3:04:00 AM ACST on Friday 20 February 2015

Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Use Right Click – to open links in a new window

 National Links

Regional and Local Links

Australian Emergency Management

Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Emergency Management Queensland

NASA’s Hurricane Facebook Page

Queensland government

Queensland Weather and Warnings

Queensland Coastal Councils

Rockampton Regional Council

Livingstone Shire Council [Evacuation)

Isaac Regional Council

Moretonbay Council

Gladstone Council  [Evacuation]

WhitSunday Regional council

Mackay Council

Burdekin Council

Townsville City Council

Redland Council [Dam Spill]

Cairn   

Central Highlands Regional Council

North Burnett Regional Council

Banana Shire Council

Bundaberg Regional Council

South Burnett Regional Council

 

Queensland Alert

Queensland Department of Community Safety

Queensland Police Service

Queensland Ambulance Service

Queensland Disasters and Alerts

Communications

Emergency Numbers

Communications Companies & Contact Information

Twitter: @Telstra

Facebook

Phone: 13 22 03 (accident causing personal injury, risk to public, downed wires, outages).

Optus 

Phone: 133 937

NBN

Phone: 1 800 687 626

Email: info@nbnco.com.au

Twitter: @NBNCo

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS –

*Police/Fire/Ambulance: 000 for life threatening emergencies or TTY 106 or 131670

Queensland State Emergency Services –

132 500 (call for emergency assistance with storm damage, rising flood waters, fallen trees, fallen buildings, roof damage).

Other Helplines:

* Queensland Emergency Management: 1300 369 003

* Local Disaster Coordination Centre: (07) 4044 3377

* State Emergency Service (SES): 132 500

* Ergon Energy: 132 296

* Bureau of Meteorology: (07) 4035 9777, 1300 659 212

* Dept of Community Services: 1800 440 074

* Lifeline Ph: 131 114

* Transport & Main Roads Queensland: 13 19 40

* Red Cross: 1300 554 419

* Rockhampton Regional Council, Local Disaster Coordination Council: 1300 652 659

* Isaac Regional Council: 1300 133 773

* Banana Shire Disaster Coordination Centre: 4992 4027 or 4992 3511

* State-wide road reports: 1 300 130 595

* Downed power lines in SEQ: 13 19 62

* Downed power lines outside SEQ: 13 16 70

* RSPCA: 1300 264 625

* Wildlife Hotline: 1300 130 372

Australian Red Cross Register.Find.Unite

Queensland’s Disaster Management: Handy Emergency Contacts

Hospitals

Evacuation Centres

Queensland Hospital and Health Services maps

www.health.qld.gov.au/maps/ 

Phone 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84)

Yeppoon hospital @AnnastaciaMP: Storm surge now exp to be 3 meters above high tide. Surgeries cancelled

Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital via @olisteele Thanks to all everyone working at today ensuring we continue caring for our patients. #TCMarcia

Capricorn Hospital is built to cat 5 capability Hospital buildings are well prepared and no concerns as… http://fb.me/7bUjQOuaW via ‏@justabfab1 

Wide Bay Hospital via @Melbbiker Townsville, Queensland has cancelled all elective surgery: information contact Fraser Coast – 4325 6470; Bundaberg 4303 8222 

Finding an evacuation centre: http://www.qld.gov.au/emergency/dealing-disasters/*evac-centres.html 

Evacuation Centres (updated Feb 21):

Gladstone:  Gladstone Entertainment Centre, 58 Goondoon St. (open, Feb 21)

Emu Park: Emu Park School Primary, 25 Fountain St (open, Feb 21)

Agnes Water: Agnes Water Community Hall, 71 Springs Rd (open, Feb 21)

Dakabin:  Watson Park Convention Centre, Old Gimpie Rd (open, Feb 21)

Woodford:  Woodford Memorial Community Hall, 103 Archer St (open, Feb 21)

Cleveland:  Redland Performing Arts Centre, 2-16 Middle St (respite center for anyone stranded by barges not running) (open, Feb 21)

* Rockhampton:  

  • Rockhampton Show Grounds, Robert Shorton Pavilion (open, Feb 21)
  • Westwood State School, 109 Herbert St. (status unknown, Feb 21)

Jambin:  Jambin State School, Three Ways Rd (open, Feb 21)

* Biloela:  

  • Biloela Civic Centre, 96 Rainbow St (open, Feb 21)
  • Mt Murchison State School, Gladstone Rd (open, Feb 21)

Murgon:  Murgon State School, 91 Gore St (open, Feb 21)

St Lawrence:  St Lawrence Bowls Club (Railway Parade)—-> Feb 20 UPDATE: St Lawrence Evacuation Centre has been (closed) (source)

Yeppoon:  

  • Yeppoon Cyclone Shelter (Yeppoon State High School, 30 Rawlings St, Yeppoon) call 4913 5000 for bus pickups (closed)
  • St Brendan’s College, 139 Adelaide Park Rd (closed)
  • Yeppoon Town Hall, 25-27 Normanby St (closed)
  • Police-Citizens Youth Club (PCYC), 170 Matthew Flinders Dr. (status unknown, Feb 21)

Livingstone Shire: call 4913 5100 for information/ evacuation assistance

Redland Bay:  Redland Bay Community Hall, 5-9 Wienam St (respite center for anyone stranded by barges not running). (status unknown, Feb 21)

Sarina:  Sarina Cultural Centre (Bruce Highway, Sarina) (status unknown, Feb 21)

Red Cross

Vulnerable Populations

Offices & Contact Information

Australian Red Cross Queensland

Humanity Place

49 Park Rd, Milton QLD 4064

Phone 07 3367 7222

Freecall 1300 554 419

Email twitter.com/RedCrossAU 

Facebook www.facebook.com/AustralianRedCross 

Regional Offices

Cairns

Cnr Lake & Grove Streets, Cairns QLD 4870

Phone 07 4052 2500

Gold Coast

6 Welch Street, Southport QLD 4215

Phone 07 5539 7000

Rockhampton

1 Canning Street, Rockhampton QLD 4700

Phone 07 4922 8056

Townsville

100 Angus Smith Drive, Douglas QLD 4814

Phone 07 4759 6111

Organizations offering help, rides, etc.

Yeppoon:  for bus pickups to evacuation shelters, call 4913 5000.

Status of Nursing Homes, Orphanages, Schools, etc.

Updates on school closures

http://deta.qld.gov.au/natural-disasters.html 

Transportation//Roads

Maps/Situational Awareness

Airports (where to find info & status)

Status:

21 Feb:

Rockhampton Airport has been closed until further notice (source).

20 Feb:

Mackay Airport – as of 1130am, 20 Feb, airport reopened but many flights delayed or cancelled. (source).

Railways, Bus, Ferries

Useful Contacts:

 

Highways/Roads 

Useful Contacts:

            Twitter: @131940_Metro

Road Closures:

21 Feb:

Road closures in Banana Shire

20 Feb:

For comprehensive information on Main Roads’ closures, please go to www.131940.qld.gov.au

* At 8am local time 13 roads were closed in Moreton Bay

Traffic & Travel Information, Metropolitan Queensland

Twitter: @131940_Metro

Royal Automobile Club of Queensland

Phone: 13 1905 (24 hrs/day)

Twitter: @RACQOfficial

1300 130 595 for 24-hour state-wide road reports. 

Road closures via South East Queensland UHF Emergency Service Team.

Marine

Marine Wind Warning Summary

Feb 20: Vehicle barge & ferry services to Nth Stradbroke Island have been suspended

Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Tropical Cyclone Marcia Forecast Map

Weather Wunderground Track Forecast Map

The Australian Satellite & Radar Maps

Queensland Road Closures Maps

Rockhampton Region Website

Moreton Bay Road Closures Map

Power & Gas

Water

Companies & Contact Information

Dangerous situations or downed power lines call 13 19 62

AGL Energy

Phone: 131 245

Twitter: @aglenergy

Facebook

Energex

Phone: 13 62 62 (outages, SEQ residents), 13 19 62 (emergencies), 13 12 53 (inquiries)

Twitter: @Energex

Facebook

Ergon Energy

Phone: Outages: 13 22 96; Inquiries: 13 10 46 (residents outside of SEQ)

Twitter: @ErgonEnergy

Weather Event Update: Facebook and Outage Finder

Envestra

Phone: 1800 808 526 (gas leak, emergency)

Status Reports

Feb 20:

Companies & Contact Information

Queensland Urban Utilities

Phone: 13 26 57 (faults & emergencies)

Twitter: @UrbanUtilities

Facebook

Seqwater

Phone: 1 800 771 497 (burst pipes)

Twitter: @_seqwater

Facebook

Twitter

FaceBook

Hashtags:  #cyclonemarcia #TCMarcia #QLD #Queensland #bigwet #qldstorm #Yeppoon #Rockhampton

Redlands: #MarciaRedlands #ReadyRedlands

 

Twitter Accounts of Interest

@BOM_Qld

@ABCemergency

@QldFES

@QPSmedia

@GetReadyQld

@RedCrossAU

@qldhealthnews

@QldAmbulance

@StJohnAmbQld

@AnnastaciaMP

@BrittanyLauga

@RSPCAQld

@SESBrisbane

@ErgonEnergy

@Energex

@bundabergrc

@RRCouncil

@QLDCairns

@CookShire

@CairnsDCC

@TCC_News

@AusClimeNetwork

@uhfemergency

@Chris_Campey

@131940_Metro

@RACQOfficial

@QueenslandRail

@tennewsqld

@7NewsBrisbane

@ABCnorthqld

@ABCFarNorth

@abccapricornia

@612brisbane

@hitz939

Facebook Accounts of Interest

Queensland Fire & Rescue Services

Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Queensland Police Service

Queensland Ambulance Service

Australian Red Cross

Isaac Regional Council

Banana Shire Disaster Management Information

Cairns Disaster Coordination Centre

Cairns

Townsville Storms

Cook Shire Connect

Cassowary Coast Regional Council

Hinchinbrook Disaster Information

NQ Flood Update

Queensland Rail

Port Douglas

Pictures and Videos

Traditional Media and blogs

Feb 20:

Video from Gracemere

Roof damage in Yeppoon

Homes damaged in Yeppoon

Houses falling into ocean, Great Keppel Island

ABC North QLD – Twitter

ABC Emergency – Twitter

FNQ Online – Twitter

Ten News Queensland – Twitter

Nine News Brisbane – Twitter

The Cairns Post – Twitter

The Cairns Post Cyclone pages – Newspaper

RADIO

Radio Stations – For Emergency Updates

• ABC Cairns – 106.7 FM, 95.5 FM, 801 AM

• ABC Cairns (Mossman & Port Douglas)

– 639 AM, 90.1 FM

• Zinc FM – 102.7FM

• 4CA AM – 846 AM

• Hot FM – 103.5 FM

• Sea FM – 99.5 FM

• 4AM Port Douglas – 1422 AM

• Port Douglas FM – 90.9 FM

• Country Mossman – 87.6 AM

• Community Radio – 89.1 FM

(sourced Cairns Regional Council)

  •  Indigenous radio

Animals in Disaster

Urgent Needs & Relief

NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue & Education Service Inc

Emergency Hotline: 13 00 094 737

Wildlife Carer & Rescue Groups in Australia

Cruelty Complaints & Animal Emergencies (including Wildlife) – 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625)

RSPCA – (to report lost or missing animals during times of disaster and emergency events – RSPCA Queensland  FB page

Queensland Lost Pets Register – Facebook  (to register lost or found pets)

RSPCA Emergency Assistance – includes emergency contacts, lost and found, inspectorate, first aid, and more.

Directory of Pet Rescue Organizations 

Care of Orphaned and Injured Animals – OzAnimals

“Australian Horse Welfare and Rescue News” blog also Facebook page – @AustHorseRescue on Twitter

DART – Disaster Animal Response Team Australia Facebook page

NARGA Disaster Response Team Facebook Page (NARGA = National Animal Rescue Groups of Australia Inc)

Animal Shelters

RSPCA Animal Shelters

Veterinarians

Australian Veterinary Association

Vets Australia

Equine Veterinarians Australia

Equine – Australian Veterinary Association

Organizations Rescuing or Accepting Animals

RSPCA Queensland

http://www.rspcaqld.org.au/contact-us 

To register your missing pet, search for found pets, register a found pet or search for lost pets during times of disaster and emergencies:

www.rspcaqld.org.au/what-we-do/lost-animals

Lost & Found / Pet D Tect 1300 363 736 

To report an animal in distress, or you have concerns for the welfare of an animal: 

RSPCA Inspectorate: 3426 9971 or 1300 852 188

Queensland Primary Industry call centre: 3239 3111

Your local Police Station

Wildlife Emergencies 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625)

                                                           

Isolated Communities or other special situational information

Where to get Relief Supplies

Volunteers Reporting

Brian, Alice, Cat, Chris, Aline, Allyson, Paras, Robin, Gijs, Christine, Sarah, Alberto