ABC Radio continues to broadcast flood and storm Community Service Announcements (CSAs) based on research findings from Natural Hazards Research Australia’s previous Flood Risk Communication project, led by A/Prof Mel Taylor at Macquarie University and facilitated and supported by AFAC through the AFAC State Emergency Service Community Safety Group.
Flood CSAs are used by ABC Radio before, during and after floods and severe storms for radio broadcasts and are typically 30 seconds in duration. They contain high-level general advice and support to listeners with the aim of increasing public safety in floods and storms.
They have been broadcast across the ABC Radio network throughout the two La Nina summers of 2021/22 and 2022/23, and again this most recent summer as storms and flooding has hit up and down the east coast.
Comprising 26 different CSAs, these messages are the first-ever nationally agreed set of public flood and storm risk announcements.
The 26 CSAs cover a range of topics, including:
- 6 related to different risks and contexts associated with driving in floods
- 4 related to playing in floodwater — the behaviours most associated with flood fatalities
- 4 related to animal ownership
- 4 that provide information about the meanings or nature of warnings and alerts
- 8 include messages around home preparation, safety considerations when cleaning up after flooding, what to do if trapped by rising floodwater or are considering staying when advised to leave, and flash flooding and the implications of flooding upstream
The Community Service Announcements are the first-ever nationally agreed set of public flood and storm risk announcements, having been endorsed in doctrine by AFAC.
Read more about the CSAs, their broadcast and reach.
“Prior to the development of these CSAs, the safety messages broadcast differed state by state and were not consistent. The value of these CSAs is they are informed by the research, and they are nationally consistent – no matter which state or territory you’re in, you’ll hear the same safety messages.”
Pat Hession - Emergency Broadcast Lead, ABC Radio