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Speaker 1: Now we know the top end storm and cyclone season

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Speaker 1: is fast approaching. We're already getting a bit of that

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Speaker 1: rain around the place, and Northern Territory Emergency Services are

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Speaker 1: encouraging Territorians to take early steps to get prepared now.

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Speaker 1: Forecasters are predicting an above average number of severe weather

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Speaker 1: events this season, and ENTES is focused on ensuring communities

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Speaker 1: understand the risks and know how to respond.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: Joining us on the line is an Emergency Services Acting

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Speaker 1: Deputy Chief Officer of Operations, Chrissy Riley. Good morning to you, Chrissy.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, how are you? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Really good? Wonderful to have you on the show now, Chrissy,

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Speaker 1: we know the headline last week was critical warning for

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Speaker 1: Territorians ahead of this storm and cyclone season. Can you

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Speaker 1: talk us through which regions are most at risk and

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Speaker 1: what we're sort of expecting this wet season.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess it's like every wet season. We're looking

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Speaker 2: between October through to April where anything could happen across

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Speaker 2: those areas depending on how those storms or storm cells

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Speaker 2: or flood start to go. It's very hard to predict

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Speaker 2: as to what which region it might fall in and

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Speaker 2: which region it might have an issue with.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, in terms of you know, the outlook, I

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Speaker 1: suppose each year we're always encouraged to be prepared, but

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Speaker 1: some years there is sort of a greater risk for

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Speaker 1: more weather events. Are we going to experience one of

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Speaker 1: those years is that the.

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Speaker 2: Prediction as the Bureau has predicted the first significant range

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Speaker 2: for the Northern West Seat for the northern wet wet season,

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Speaker 2: it's likely to come a little bit earlier. It's going

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Speaker 2: to bring a bit of heavy rain, widespread rainfall. This

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Speaker 2: in turn can lead to quick creek risers and resulting

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Speaker 2: in our flooding across across the area.

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Speaker 1: So what is some of the things that we need

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Speaker 1: to make sure that we are doing to prepare because

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Speaker 1: I guess you know we'll talk through preparing for a cyclone,

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Speaker 1: but even as you touched on there, even making sure

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Speaker 1: that we're prepared for a flooding event.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, one of the big things that we need to

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Speaker 2: look at is making sure that we've got an emergency

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Speaker 2: plan ready and an emergency kit. You know we have

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Speaker 2: and you've probably heard our chief officer, mister Wayne Smill

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Speaker 2: talking about the first seventy two is on you. So

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Speaker 2: we really want you to be prepared for that, and

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Speaker 2: we don't want you to forget your pets in this

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Speaker 2: as well, So making sure that everyone within your family,

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Speaker 2: including your pets, are looked after.

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Speaker 1: Now, what should we have in our emergency kits?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so in your emergency kits you want to look

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Speaker 2: at having a battery powered radio just in case we

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Speaker 2: do lose electricity. Within that important document, definitely first age kid,

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Speaker 2: enough food and water for three days at a minimum,

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Speaker 2: and making sure that you've got all humanications that you

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Speaker 2: need and anything any baby needs, and of course your pets.

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Speaker 1: Chrissy, what are your must haves when it comes to

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Speaker 1: some of the foods that you put in your emergency kick?

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Speaker 1: Because I know when you want things to last a while,

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Speaker 1: they're not necessarily the tastiest, But what kind of things

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Speaker 1: do you make sure you've got in there?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely? I guess if you can. If you can look

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Speaker 2: at tin foods or prepackaged dry foods, they're the ones

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Speaker 2: that you really want to look at, Ones that don't

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Speaker 2: need to that you can eat without having to have

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Speaker 2: electricity if that need arises. So yeah, baked beans for

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Speaker 2: ditty tuna, Yes, they're my favorite for.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Hey, and then you spoke about the emergency plan obviously,

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Speaker 1: and also you know what we should have in those

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Speaker 1: cyclone kits, But what about for households, you know, especially

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Speaker 1: in you know, like if you're on a bigger block

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Speaker 1: or maybe even doesn't matter, I guess where you're living.

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Speaker 1: But what sort of practical measures do we need to

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Speaker 1: make sure we're focusing on, you know, like securing structures

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Speaker 1: and that kind of stuff.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, so what you want to look at doing around

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Speaker 2: this time we've just had the cyclone cleanup around dal

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Speaker 2: and Palmerston areas as well, but making sure that you

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Speaker 2: do clear up around your home, start trimming any trees

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Speaker 2: or branches that might need trimming, and securing anything that

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Speaker 2: you think might become a missile and high winds.

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Speaker 1: Now, I know that you guys always work with local governments, communities,

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Speaker 1: other services as well, like health and power and water

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Speaker 1: transport to ensure that your coordinated readiness and response you know,

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Speaker 1: across the Northern Territory as the best that it can be.

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Speaker 1: I guess you know, when it comes to us as

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Speaker 1: individuals making sure we're ready, we've got to do those

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Speaker 1: different plans and have our kits ready. What do you

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Speaker 1: guys do as an organization to make sure that you're

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Speaker 1: sort of as prepared as possible, because then you're looking

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Speaker 1: after us and making sure everybody is coordinated as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. What we do is we make sure

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Speaker 2: that our volunteers are prepared. They have ongoing training throughout

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Speaker 2: the year, and we really try and ramp up our

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Speaker 2: training just on the lead up into web season to

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Speaker 2: make sure that they're prepared fully to be able to

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Speaker 2: assist anyone when we need to. We will look at prepositioning.

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Speaker 2: Preposition presis leaving resources around so that we can make

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Speaker 2: sure that they're in the areas that they need to

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Speaker 2: be for if we know that there's going to be

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Speaker 2: any river rises or anything like that. We also do

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Speaker 2: we're looking at preparing our pre season briefing at the

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Speaker 2: moment for our unit officers, just to make sure that

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Speaker 2: they've got a heads up on everything that's about to

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Speaker 2: come their way.

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Speaker 1: And Christy, it's always like it's an interesting time of

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Speaker 1: the year because I guess for some of us, if

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Speaker 1: we've lived here for a long time, rightly or wrongly,

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Speaker 1: maybe get slightly complacent. So then you, on the other hand,

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Speaker 1: have got people that have just moved here. Maybe they're

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Speaker 1: here for their first ever wet season, but it's important

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Speaker 1: for all of us to just make sure that we're organized,

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Speaker 1: particularly if you're planning on heading away over the Christmas

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Speaker 1: break too.

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Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, for sure. Just making sure that you do

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Speaker 2: have everything secure, making sure that your neighbors know that

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Speaker 2: you might not be there as well, for our visitors,

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Speaker 2: making sure that they do know where to go to

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Speaker 2: have a look for some further information, and that for

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Speaker 2: our locals as well, for checking out secure and tea.

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Speaker 2: Listening to the ABC Radio with our official emergency podcaster.

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Speaker 2: When things do go.

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Speaker 1: Well, we make sure we're broadcasting as well, Chrissy, yep.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and yeah, just making sure that we can get

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Speaker 2: as much information out to as many people as possible. Well.

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Speaker 1: INT Emergency Services, Acting Deputy Chief Officer of Operations, Chrissy Riley.

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Speaker 1: Really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for having a

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Speaker 1: chat with us, not.

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Speaker 2: A problem, Thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much,