Regional Meeting in Townsville a Success

FMA held it’s second ever regional meeting in Townsville on the 14th November with a full room, some familiar faces and some new to FMA.

The meeting was held at the Townsville Local Disaster Coordination Centre, which provided an excellent venue for the day’s discussions. The meeting was a great opportunity to introduce the FMA Executive Committee and outline what FMA does to those who cannot normally travel to Brisbane or Sydney.

Before the FMA Meeting proper convened, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) hosted a Flood Warning Infrastructure Workshop for Townsville and surrounds.

Throughout the day, we also heard from the QRA on their recent funding activity and developments, the Bureau of Meteorology provided an inside look at the projected weather for the next few months, and Townsville City Council representatives gave a number of enlightening presentations on their response during the recent flooding event.

The highlight of the day was the tour of the Disaster Coordination Centre, led by Wayne Preedy (Team Manager Emergency Management, Townsville City Council).  Wayne explained to those present the deliberate intention and forethought that went into the design of the building, including providing breakout rooms that provided quiet places for uninterrupted strategic planning, desk placement that encouraged agency cooperation and simple technological conveniences that increased productivity and efficiency greatly.

The Disaster Response during the February 2019 monsoon floods led by Townsville City Council was exemplary, and delegates were able to take much knowledge and innovation from the day.

New FMA Member Campbell Scientific, whose Australian operations are based at Townsville, was introduced by Rex Keene. 

Accompanying Rex were US head office representatives eager to learn about flood monitoring and warning issues in Australia.