If you're holidaying and a cyclone is moving towards your location the safest thing you can do is leave the area.
Before you leave
- If you're driving, make sure you've got enough fuel to get away from where the cyclone is tracking. If the cyclone hits where you are, petrol stations may be damaged or lose electricity.
- Check how the cyclone is affecting transport, traffic and road closures along your planned route — heavy rain from a cyclone can impact highways and roads hundreds of kilometres away from the system.
NSW Help planning for emergencies NT Cyclone preparation - Auslan Qld Cyclone information for people living with disability Qld Storm information Easy English SA Storms guide - Easy English Tas Help getting ready for emergencies Vic Get ready for storms - Easy EnglishAccessible storm and cyclone information
Stay up to date
- Keep listening to the local ABC Radio station — warnings and emergency information, including road closures and updates from local authorities, will be broadcast regularly.
- Follow the instructions from local emergency authorities.
- Know where the cyclone is predicted to move. Don't try to continue your journey if it puts you in the path of a cyclone.
- If you can't leave the area, know where to find the local evacuation centre or emergency shelter.
If you have to go to an evacuation centre
Pack these items into a bag you can carry easily:
- Food and water
- Mobile phones and chargers — if you have a spare battery bank, even better
- Medications and prescriptions
- Spare clothes and blankets and sleeping bags
- Cash and credit cards and your passport if you need it
- Toiletries and a towel
During major emergencies, the Red Cross will activate its Register.Find.Reunite service. Travellers in disaster zones can register their details to enable family to locate them.
If you're in your car when a cyclone hits:
- Immediately park in an area clear of trees, powerlines and water courses
- Stay inside your car, beneath the windows if possible
- Never ever enter floodwaters — conditions can change quickly
- Fast-moving water can sweep away your car no matter what you drive
- Obey road closure signs, even if you know the area well — there could be hazards you don't know about
- Drive carefully on roads that have been flooded because damage is not always visible
Loading...WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says flooding causes the most deaths during cyclones.
If your car is in rising or fast-flowing water:
- Take your seatbelt off
- Unlock doors and open windows — break them if they won't go down
- Exit the car through the window and get on the roof
- Get older children out first so they can help others
- Stay on the roof as long as possible and call Triple Zero (000) for help
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