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Council’s Emergency Management Coordinator
COUNCIL’S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR HITS THE GROUND RUNNING
Robyn Monk was unaware she would have to manage one of the biggest floods in the history of the Clarence when commencing her new role as Clarence Valley Council’s first full-time Coordinator Emergency Management and Resilience in January this year.
On the 23 February, Robyn received the first of many warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) signalling the onset of a weather event that would deliver extreme multi-day rainfall and flooding to eastern New South Wales. Within 24 hrs of the initial warning, the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was placed on standby at the request of SES as the severe weather event began to intensify. Robyn commenced coordinating activities in preparation for a flood event such as regularly briefing Council of the unfolding situation, ensuring SES requests for sand deliveries to communities were actioned by council and ensuring alternate heavy vehicle transport routes were approved by Transport for NSW before normal routes become inaccessible. Continuous monitoring of river gauge levels, flood monitoring cameras, BoM information and road closures were also ongoing to maintain situational awareness of the event. On Monday, 28 February 2022, the EOC was activated to coordinate the multi-agency response required to support SES manage the consequences of both riverine and flash flooding across the Local Government Area. As Coordinator Emergency Management & Resilience, Robyn is required to assist council to deliver the outcomes of the Disaster Resilience Framework, engage community to increase awareness and preparedness for disaster, perform the duties of Local Emergency Management Officer (LEMO) to support the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) and Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON) as required. While performing the role of LEMO, Robyn is required to assist the LEOCON coordinate and monitor emergency operations which may require a coordinated multi-agency response. Headed by the LEOCON, the EOC commenced centralised coordination of activities such as activating and opening suitable evacuation centres, ensuring vulnerable facilities were evacuating, the relocation of critical resources to Maclean following an unexpected pump failure and assist Council resource activities associated with emergency levee remediation work at Maclean. As the flood peak passed and rain subsided, the EOC was stood down and the transition to recovery was commenced and communicated. This role was created as part of the Disaster Resilience Framework, an innovative project embedding a Clarence Valley specific Climate Change Impact Assessment into a framework designed to inform and guide Council activity to proactively reduce risk to infrastructure, business and community from natural hazards and their impacts. When not directly involved in the coordination of emergency response, Robyn supports the LEMC develop and review plans to manage the potential consequence of emergencies from hazards identified across the Clarence Valley Local Government Area. She also participates on the Floodplain Risk Management and Bushfire Management Committees. Robyn comes to Clarence valley Council following a 20-year career in emergency services with NSW Ambulance and Ambulance Victoria.
Image above: Emergency Management Coordinator, Robyn Monk.
