Know your Neighbours

Getting to know your neighbours and your local community is an important part of preparing your household for a disaster.

Your neighbours can help you prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster. They can also help you and your family feel safer.

Neighbours can help each other in many different ways before, during and after a disaster by:

• helping to prepare a household emergency plan and an emergency kit
• helping you prepare your home and yard, such as trimming trees and clearing gutters
• helping you move outdoor furniture and secure other loose objects around your property
• providing information about what is happening
• providing a place to shelter during a disaster
• helping to clean up after a disaster
• talking about what has happened so you can be better prepared next time.

We’ll all cope better with disasters if we work together as a community and look out for people who might need extra help, or people who may be able to help you. Look out for:

• older people living by themselves
• people with physical or sensory disabilities
• people living with chronic illness or mental illness
• single parents with young children
• large families
• people who have recently arrived, including tourists, refugees or immigrants.

Check your neighbours checklist

For more information, please visit Get Ready Queensland or the Australian Red Cross websites.