Councils in the Hunter region now have access to a state-of-the-art simulation tool to help their communities understand and prepare for natural disasters.

Last week, the Hunter JO received two Simtables, sophisticated “digital sand tables” that display high quality models of natural hazards such as bushfires and floods. They will be used in workshops across the Hunter to improve community awareness of these hazards and how best to prepare and respond. The Simtables will be available for our Member Councils to use to engage and educate community groups to build resilience and preparedness for natural hazards. We will be holding training in the coming months.

The Simtables work by showing a simulation of how a hazard moves across and impacts a landscape. Because they use local maps and data, the Simtables will provide local residents with a highly realistic demonstration of how their properties and communities may be affected. The workshops will provide attendees with a deep understanding of their risks, strengthen community connections and enable the development of tailored and detailed response plans.

The Simtables have been purchased with a grant from the NSW Government’s Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund (BCRRF) for the LGAs that were disaster declared in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. Along with the Hunter JO, the Canberra Region and Mid North Coast Joint Organisations will also be receiving Simtables, supporting increased collaboration and consistent disaster resilience advice across vulnerable regions of the state.

This project will make the Hunter region one of the earliest users of Simtable technology in Australia. Ku-ring-gai Council has previously used a Simtable as a part of their highly successful Climate Wise Communities program.

A minimum of 24 workshops will be delivered across the Hunter and Central Coast before the end of June 2023 – three in each of the participating LGAs of Central Coast, Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, MidCoast, Muswellbrook, Singleton and Upper Hunter.

To know more about how to access these great tools or for further information, please contact Chris Dart, Regional Project Officer at chrisd@hunterjo.com.au or 0460 038 197.