Community groups now better prepared for next emergency

Published on 13 September 2024

Community groups across the Byron Shire are now better equipped for the next major emergency.

Resilience networks in Bangalow, Federal, Goonengerry, Mullumbimby, South Golden Beach, Upper Coopers Creek and Wilsons Creek have been given portable Starlink dishes, which will give them access to essential and life-saving communication should mobile and NBN networks fail.

Sarah Boulle, Council’s Recovery Coordinator, said there was an obvious communication failure during the 2022 floods, which left pockets of the Byron Shire isolated and people unable to communicate with emergency services.

“This is a safety risk, and we wanted to mitigate this by providing a back-up communications system for these communities,” Ms Boulle said.

“These Starlink systems, which come with portable, back-up power equipment, will allow community resilience groups to connect to the internet or use their smart phones to call 000 for emergency assistance and to get access to emergency warnings and disaster information.

“The Starlink systems and the associated equipment are on loan to community resilience groups to be used in the event of an emergency,” she said.

After the floods community resilience teams made up of volunteers stepped up to support the community with recovery and preparedness.

“We’ve been working with them over the last two years and these back-up communication systems are one of the ways we are supporting their valuable work,” Ms Boulle said.

“Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of 2022 but while there’s a lot more work to do, our communities are better prepared and resourced to face future disasters or emergencies,” she said.

This project was funded by the NSW and Australian Governments.