Homes across the country will receive a flyer urging them to prepare for the worst this bushfire season as Australia Post and the Red Cross strive to ensure regional communties are ready for potential disasters.
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The letter drop, reaching more than three million households in "high-risk" areas of Australia on September 16, includes a QR code with checklists and disaster preparedness resources.
"We want you to be practically prepared and psychologically prepared," Red Cross Victorian director Nichola Krey said.
"Our experience has shown us that if you experience trauma during an emergency you're much more likely to take that trauma with you and for it to stick around for a little while after the disaster," she said.
Emergency ready week
The Red Cross launches the 'emergency ready week' initiative each September in the lead up to summer and the bushfire season.
But Ms Krey said "disasters happen all year round now, we're seeing flooding throughout the year".
"Being practically prepared means looking at the flyer, going to a local pop up, hearing what they have to say about preparedness or access the Red Cross preparedness website and have a look at some of the resources we've got there," she said.
Australia Post pop-up shops
Australia Post are preparing for natural disasters in regional and rural communities with pop-up shops and a handful of mobile vans.
In the event of an emergency, that blocks access to an AusPost branch, mobile vans and pop-up post offices will be "equipped to provide a broad range of services including BillPay and everyday banking", Australia Post executive general manager of retail Josh Bannister said.
"Our post office teams provide on the ground support to communities including free mail redirection services for people who have been unable to return home because of a disaster and in some circumstances, deploying mobile van post offices to disaster affected areas and pop-up post offices to ensure continuity of services during recovery," he said.
Pillowcase workshops
A number of resources have been made available to families including 'pillowcase workshops' to help children mentally and physically prepare for an emergency evacuation.
The Red Cross encourage children attending the workshops to consider the top seven items they would pack into a pillowcase in the event of an emergency.
"It's really interactive and we also help them psychologically prepare for what that's going to feel like," Ms Krey said.
"A really important aspect of being prepared is talking to your kids," she said.
"Just remember that in an emergency if you're a parent, kids will pick up on your panic so being practically and psychologically prepared is paramount."
Anna Houlahan
Anna Houlahan reports on crime and social issues affecting regional and remote Australia in her role as national crime reporter at Australian Community Media (ACM). She was ACM’s Trainee of the Year in 2023 and, aside from reporting on crime, has travelled the country as a journalist for Explore Travel Magazine. Reach out with news or updates to anna.houlahan@austcommunitymedia.com.au
