Shire of Ashburton Council has become the first local government in Western Australia to introduce a Guardian Emergency Dashboard.
Trusted by over 90 communities, Guardian dashboards have been proven to reduce call times to councils by up to 80% and provide a single point of truth for information sharing which empowers locals to make better informed decisions from a single webpage, Council said in a statement.
Having resources such as road conditions, power outages, weather warnings, river heights, airport schedules, boating forecasts, quick links and more on one accessible platform will help to inform the community and highlight how to prepare for incidents and events that impact the area. It will also help to navigate real time situations with official advice from authority sources, it said.
Council President, Kerry White said Council was pleased to be the first to bring the resource to Western Australia.
“Council is thrilled by the work that has been done by Shire officers and QIT Plus to bring this resource to our community,” she said.
“With towns located both on the coast and inland, our unique Pilbara environment opens us up to a range of natural disaster opportunities including cyclones, bushfires, floods, and road closures due to a high number of unsealed roads.
“It is our hope that this resource allows both residents and visitors to our region to have a single point of reference and feel safe navigating the area.”
She said it was imperative that Council and local residents were aware of the nature of the environment and take appropriate steps to prepare for natural disasters.
“I encourage residents across all towns to take a look at this resource.”
“Being the first in the State to utiilise this resource, the Shire hopes to be a leader for other local governments to amalgamate their emergency service information.”
QIT Plus CEO, Chris Madsen said her team has enjoyed working with the Shire and was excited to bring Guardian to Western Australia.
“QIT Plus provides emergency dashboards to organisations across Australia, Canada and Fiji, and we’re very excited to have the opportunity to add Western Australia to the fold through our partnership with Shire of Ashburton,” said Ms Madsen.
“We are excited to be assisting Shire of Ashburton in enhancing their emergency preparedness through their dashboard. With tools such as opt-in notifications, live information updates, interactive maps, and quick contacts, locals will be able to access real-time information and see a visual operating picture of current incidents and weather events (such as storms, bushfires, flooding and roadwork.)
“The Shire of Ashburton have been a pleasure to work with and their commitment to ensuring their community is well informed during an emergency is to be commended. We are looking forward to continuing our client relationship with them and supporting their dashboard needs.
Follow the link to view Council’s new emergency dashboard.
