Emergency management put to the test as ‘tornado’ triggers multi-agency exercise
The City of Stirling has collaborated with emergency services, neighbouring local governments and the community on an emergency management exercise designed to test its response to a major storm event.
Coordinated by the City and made possible by State Government AWARE grant funding, the multi-agency exercise was held across two days at the start of Perth’s storm season.
It started on Sunday morning at the former ECU Mount Lawley campus, where a mock tornado had triggered an apartment building collapse and a livestock truck crash.
To increase realism, dozens of volunteers from the community played the roles of those impacted by the emergency, including residents injured or missing in the apartment building collapse.
State Emergency Service volunteers were deployed to conduct search and rescue operations, while community safety officers from various local governments were tasked with managing domestic animals and livestock.
The second day of the exercise, held at Stirling Leisure – Tuart Hill Community Centre on Monday, focused on welfare and recovery.
A diverse group of storm-affected residents with various challenges arrived at a mock evacuation centre established by the City and the Department of Communities.
Meanwhile, the City’s Acting CEO Michael Quirk chaired three Local Recovery Coordination Group (LRCG) meetings structured to represent meetings held one day, one week and 12 weeks after the tornado.
These meetings focused on roles, resources, coordination and communication as the LRCG responded to the wider impacts of the tornado on residents and infrastructure.
The exercise involved the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, WA Police Force, State Emergency Service, St John WA, Department of Communities, Department of Transport, Western Power, Central Regional TAFE, Australian Red Cross, The Salvation Army and employees from the Cities of Stirling, Vincent, Bayswater, Nedlands and Swan.
A team of evaluators watched and documented each scenario to identify opportunities for improvement. Their analysis will be presented to Stirling's Local Emergency Management Committee to make sure the lessons learned through the exercise are incorporated into the City's local emergency management arrangements.
“This was about testing our ability to collaborate with emergency services during the response and recovery phases of an emergency,” City of Stirling Deputy Mayor Karlo Perkov said.
“It was an incredibly valuable learning experience for us and I want to thank all of our partner agencies for investing their time and effort into this exercise.
“I also want to make special mention of the volunteers from our community who brought it all to life by playing the roles of casualties and other people affected by the tornado.”
