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Speaker 1: Now, over the last few weeks, you will have noticed

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Speaker 1: that we've caught up a few times with my next guest.

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Speaker 1: His name is Mark Cunnington and he is the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory Emergency Services Regional Manager of the Northern Division. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Mark, morning Katie. Good to be back.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good to see you. And obviously we've been catching

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Speaker 1: up really to make sure that territorians and those visiting

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Speaker 1: the territory as well or who've maybe just moved here

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Speaker 1: are quite prepared come wet season and cyclone season. And

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Speaker 1: one of the things that you know that we've got

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Speaker 1: to make sure that we are prepared for is that

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Speaker 1: flash flooding, the slippery roads and some of those quite

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Speaker 1: wild things that happened I suppose, or happen on the

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Speaker 1: roads as a result of the wet weather.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and look, we've had a couple of really good

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Speaker 2: storms in the last week or so, last Friday and

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Speaker 2: last night even around the Darwen area yep. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: something I really noticed on Friday in particular was just

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Speaker 2: how soapy the roads were around, so very slippery.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what course is that? Is it because of just.

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Speaker 2: Oil and stuff coming off cars? Yeah, just a gunknet

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Speaker 2: that gathers up over the dry season and it takes

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Speaker 2: a couple of heavy showers to wash it away and

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Speaker 2: so on, but it makes the roads very slippery. So

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Speaker 2: checking your vehicle is ready for the wet season, making

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Speaker 2: sure your tires are good, that they're at the right

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Speaker 2: inflation level. New wipers on your windscreen. I religiously replaced

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Speaker 2: mine every year, regardless of how good they might see.

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Speaker 2: But you know, giving yourself at least a chance to

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Speaker 2: make your way safely through some of their heavy rain

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Speaker 2: we have up here is a good start to the season.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's always a good reminder to make sure

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Speaker 1: that people do know to do all of those things.

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Speaker 1: Have there been instances like I know that yesterday, for example,

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Speaker 1: I was dropping the kids out to Marra to sport

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Speaker 1: and then got caught up in that heavy downpour. And

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Speaker 1: you do notice that on the road sometimes you end

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Speaker 1: up with those quite large patches of water that they

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Speaker 1: do go away pretty quickly, but it certainly changes the

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Speaker 1: way that you drive.

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Speaker 2: They can do that, and look, you've really got to

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Speaker 2: keep an eye out for that sort of stuff, for

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Speaker 2: water gathering on the sides of roads, in particularly near

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Speaker 2: drains that may have a bit of rubbish in them

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Speaker 2: they haven't been cleared out as yet, and sticking away

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Speaker 2: from the edge of the roads, reducing your speed so

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Speaker 2: that if you do happen to hit these spots, you're

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Speaker 2: less likely to be dragged off and into traffic or

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Speaker 2: into the side of the road or something like that.

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Speaker 2: We're just slowing down, taking it easy, putting your lights

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Speaker 2: on so people see you. It's phenomenal the amount of

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Speaker 2: people that just don't put their lights on in heavy rains.

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Speaker 1: I was going to say, it sounds like real common

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Speaker 1: sense stuff, and it's something I've spoken to the police about. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's right. It doesn't happen as often as you think,

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Speaker 1: and it is something that we just need to be

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Speaker 1: mindful of to make sure that the vehicles around you

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Speaker 1: can actually see you. Now, with some of that flash

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Speaker 1: flooding you know, obviously was talking about on the roads there,

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Speaker 1: but then you go a little bit further into the

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Speaker 1: rest of the territory environment and look at some of

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Speaker 1: those flooded waterways. It's something that we do see quite

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Speaker 1: a bit over the wet season. Throughout the tear have

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Speaker 1: there been situations where emergency services and indeed even our

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Speaker 1: fieries and police, I would guess, have had to go

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Speaker 1: out and rescue people from those floods.

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Speaker 2: Invariably every season we will in the territory conduct you

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Speaker 2: probably two or three rescues because people have made a

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Speaker 2: poor choice, and that poor choice is driving into a

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Speaker 2: flooded road. You've risked so much by doing that. Fifteen

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Speaker 2: centimeters of a light moving water will lift a car up.

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Speaker 2: A fall will drive not just a little Hoyundi type range,

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Speaker 2: but a fall drive can be lifted and moved by

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Speaker 2: fifteen centimeters in depth of water. So you're taking your life,

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Speaker 2: the lives of your friends, family, or otherwise into your

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Speaker 2: own hands. If you think you're going to get across

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Speaker 2: a creek crossing or something of floodway safely, just don't

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Speaker 2: risk it. Most of the water we have up here

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Speaker 2: drains away very quickly once the rain's go on, So

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Speaker 2: wait half an hour or so, have your hazard lights

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Speaker 2: on while you're waiting, and just wait before proceeding past

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Speaker 2: the point like that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say, what is the advice

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Speaker 1: like if you are at a at a creek crossing

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Speaker 1: and you think, oh, I'm not one hundred percent sure

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Speaker 1: just how high that water is. You know, what is

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Speaker 1: the advice? Is it better to just be safe than

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Speaker 1: sorry and not cross?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely? Look, really, just take a breath, take a moment.

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Speaker 2: If you have to turn around and find an alternate route.

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Speaker 2: You may find that that crek crossing might be going

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Speaker 2: out for a little while yet, but in particular around

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Speaker 2: the day oen air, the water drains off very quickly,

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Speaker 2: so you're not going to be there for very long,

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Speaker 2: if at all, so be a little patient. Wait, I mean,

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Speaker 2: you could affect everything from car insurance to losing your life.

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Speaker 2: It's just not worth it.

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Speaker 1: And there has been not so long ago actually in

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs there, what's that situation where our police, I believe,

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Speaker 1: our fires and our emergency crews we all had to

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Speaker 1: hit out there. Yeah, all the volleys had to go

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Speaker 1: out and rescue that man in Alice Springs who was in.

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Speaker 2: The flooded hYP So that was a nine hour rescue

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Speaker 2: just because somebody made a poor choice to drive into

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Speaker 2: a crossing that was obviously flooded blatantly. So and I

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Speaker 2: understand possibly even when around people who are putting up

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Speaker 2: signs blocking the road off. So it puts our people

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Speaker 2: at risk. It's not an easy job to do. It

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Speaker 2: takes a lot of planning, experience, training and equipment to

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Speaker 2: safely rescue somebody from one of these situations. And just

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Speaker 2: don't put yourself there in the first place, and take

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Speaker 2: a breath, wait five or ten, whatever it takes, and

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Speaker 2: you just don't go into flooded.

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Speaker 1: Roadways, drive to your capabilities, and don't drive across across

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Speaker 1: those areas that do have plenty of water.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, so cars don't go particularly well underwater, and water

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Speaker 2: moves so fast, so powerful. This it's phenomenal the amount

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Speaker 2: of force you have there. And it's just so easy

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Speaker 2: to get yourself in trouble.

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Speaker 1: Well. And look, I know that a lot of people

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Speaker 1: listening this morning who've maybe lived in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: for a long time. It's common sense in a lot

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Speaker 1: of ways. But then to a lot of other people,

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Speaker 1: whether you're talking about younger people who maybe haven't had

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Speaker 1: their license for a long time, or those who have

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Speaker 1: moved here from interstate, all those that maybe don't sort

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Speaker 1: of get out of the urban centers very much, it

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Speaker 1: is actually info that.

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Speaker 2: You've got to know absolutely, and you know, just look

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Speaker 2: around the country. Now we have situations in both Queensland

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Speaker 2: and New South Wales where there's heavy weather, there's flooding.

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Speaker 2: You know, they've had somewhere in the region of one

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Speaker 2: hundred and fifty rescues and it's of people who have

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Speaker 2: decided to drive into flooded conditions. We've had fifty odd

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Speaker 2: deaths here in the territory, almost all of which have

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Speaker 2: been because people have decided to drive into flood water.

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Speaker 2: It's what more can you say? That may seem like

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Speaker 2: it's a common sense type thing, and you know, there

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Speaker 2: are all sorts of studies around the country on this

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Speaker 2: sort of stuff as to why people do things, but

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Speaker 2: just take a breath, set back for a moment. Don't

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Speaker 2: drive into floodwaters. Yeah, I can't say it enough. Don't

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Speaker 2: drive into floodwaters, turn around, don't drown. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Good advice, Very good and sound advice. Mark Cunnington, I

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Speaker 1: really appreciate your time and your time over the last

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Speaker 1: few weeks. Love to say that we might not see

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Speaker 1: each other for a while, but no doubt as the

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Speaker 1: we may well, but also as the I'm no doubt

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Speaker 1: that as the wet season really cranks up as well,

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Speaker 1: and as things get busier as well for emergency services,

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Speaker 1: we're probably going to hear from you more often than

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Speaker 1: we have for the last few months.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and look, I'm certainly glad to help and giving

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Speaker 2: me a good advice that we can to keep people safe.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Mark, always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: We will catch up with you again once more before Christmas.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time today.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Cattie,