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Heatwave Response Plan

Heatwave Response Plan

The Rural City of Wangaratta is addressing the impact of heatwaves at a community level by developing a Heatwave Response Plan in preparation for the coming summer.

Prolonged periods of extremely hot weather are known through International and Australian experiences, to be associated with marked, short-term increases in morbidity and mortality in vulnerable population groups.

In January 2009, Victoria experienced an unprecedented state-wide heatwave, with three consecutive days of temperatures above 43°C and little overnight relief. A report by the Office of the Chief Health Officer concluded that there were 374 additional deaths during the heatwave.

The emphasis of the Heatwave Response Plan is to provide heatwave information to key stakeholders and the local community, in particular vulnerable population groups and to disseminate heatwave alerts received from the Department of Health to stakeholders and in turn the users of their service.

Ruth Tai, Council’s Director of Human and Cultural Services said that the Department of Health has established heatwave thresholds for metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria with the threshold set for the Northeast District at a maximum temperature of 40oC.

“During the summer season, the department monitors the Bureau of Meteorology website and notifies departmental staff and local councils of impending heatwaves, in our case where the Northeast District threshold of 40oC is predicted to be exceeded.”

The Bureau of Meteorology provides seven-day maximum and minimum temperature forecasts along with detailed descriptions for 29 areas in Victoria.

“The Rural City of Wangaratta is committed to reducing the impacts of our heatwaves on our urban and rural communities during extreme heat events”, she said.