October 18, 2012
Large areas of the South Burnett could be at greater risk in an emergency because of mobile phone blackspots and weak radio transmissions.
Leading up to what has been predicted to be one of the worst bushfire seasons in years, some local towns cannot receive broadcasts from ABC local radio – or community radio – so may not receive timely bushfire warnings.
A map published at the weekend in the Sunday Mail depicted a swathe through the region, stretching from Goomeri to near Nanango, and areas around Blackbutt, that are in a radio transmission “weak zone”.
Alternate ways of alerting residents – via mobile phone alerts or the Internet – are also less likely to succeed because of poor mobile phone coverage in the same areas.
The Queensland Rural Fire Service says that in an extreme emergency, there are systems in place that could trigger automated messages to landline telephones.
However even these systems are unlikely to reach visitors to the region.
The decision to implement these alert systems rests with the controller of the incident.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Area Director Rural Operations Mr Col Neal said there were a number of emergency alert systems in place but in reality none are foolproof and there was no guarantee that 100 per cent of people in an area will be reached.
At the moment, messages can be sent to the address of landline phones, and to addresses of mobile phones.
Unfortunately what this means is that people who live in the area will receive the alert on their mobiles, even if they are safely away from the area on holiday, but visitors to the area may not.
An emergency alert system based on proximity of a mobile phone to a tower is being rolled out.
A location-based SMS solution for mobile phones should be operational by Telstra by next month, with Vodafone and Optus to provide the service from October next year.
South Burnett radio “weak zone” areas include:
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